Twisted Fates
by GenocideHeart
Summary: THIS FIC IS DEAD. I'll leave it up a while longer before taking it offline. Read my profile to find out why I did this.
1. Prologue: A Different Road

(A/N: Hello and well met. This is my second fic, after the Rurouni Kenshin-based "Second Chances". This time, I chose Naruto.

The premise of the story is simple, yet the result was complex beyond my expectations. Basically... as you recall, in the beginning Naruto stole a scroll which contained several forbidden jutsu, including the Kage Bunshin. However, in the story he only had time to master the Kage Bunshin.

But, what if... he had time to master one more technique?

This fic deals with such a possibility. Starting from Naruto's talk with Mizuki and continuing through several key points in his life, this fic and the future chapters will show you just how much such a simple thing can change Naruto's future...

Now, on with the story!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to ^_^. The character of Basara, however, is an original creation of mine. Other OCs in the future will also be mine. There ya go...

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story;

**TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

**And thanks to YOU for reading! ^__^

(_Italics_ indicates thought. Words in {brackets} indicate Basara speaking.)

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********PROLOGUE: A Different Road********

"But I would've liked to pass the exam..." the blonde-haired boy called Naruto murmured. He was sitting on a roof along with Mizuki-sensei, one of the Konoha Academy's teachers, and was looking down with an unhappy expression.

It had been a bad day for Naruto Uzumaki. Not only had he flunked the Genin graduation exam for the third time, but he did so in a rather humiliating way. Now he sat on the roof, depressed, after having a chat with Mizuki-sensei.

The older man next to him glanced at him with an odd expression, his hair blowing in the wind, and appeared to make up his mind about something.

"All right then," he said to the boy near him. Naruto looked up in confusion.

"I'll tell you a very special secret..."

----

That night, the moon shone over Konoha. Had anyone paid attention to the roofs, they would have seen a young boy dressed in an orange jumpsuit quietly creeping along the wall of the Third Hokage's house, moving towards a nearby window...

As Naruto opened the window and quickly slid in, a voice from behind startled him.

"What are you doing in my house at night?"

Naruto slowly turned around, a fake grin plastered to his face. Before him stood the Third Hokage himself, Sarutobi - the most revered man in all of Konoha.

As he faced the Hokage, Naruto desperately started thinking of some way to get out of trouble. Finding only one way, he quickly drew his hands together, performing a series of seals.

"Sexy no Jutsu!!"

"Wha...?!"

Minutes later, the Third Hokage lay twitching in a pool of his own blood, passed out from... a massive nosebleed. Meanwhile, Naruto had found what he was looking for - a forbidden ninja scroll in the Third Hokage's personal library...

And outside, a familiar figure watched the Hokage's residence - and grinned.

__

Everything's going the way I thought...

Still grinning, Mizuki disappeared behind a wall.

----

As he escaped from the Third Hokage's house, Naruto decided that the nearby forest was the perfect place for him to read the scroll undisturbed. Shortly after, he reached a small clearing inside the forest. It looked perfect for settling down and reading.

__

Hm, I could stop here, Naruto thought while surveying the area. Then he looked the way he had come and frowned. _But it is still too close. I'd better go deeper in..._

As he resumed jumping from branch to branch, he unconsciously set in motion a series of events that would forever change his life - and that of those near him. For this was where he was originally meant to stop and study - and by going deeper in, he had chosen a different road...

----

Minutes later, Naruto came to a stop in yet another clearing. Looking around, he nodded with a satisfied look and sat on the ground. Then he eagerly unraveled the scroll and started reading.

"Let's see... the first technique is... the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" he said with a frown. "What, I must start with the technique I'm worst at?!"

----

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, the scroll's theft had been discovered. After recovering, the Third Hokage sent his ninja out to find Naruto and retrieve the scroll.

Among these ninja were Iruka and Mizuki. Both headed towards the forest - but with very different goals in their minds...

----

Deep in the forest, Naruto lay hunched over and panting on the ground. He had finally mastered the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He grinned to himself - THIS was guaranteed to surprise Iruka-sensei!

After taking one last, deep breath, Naruto straightened himself and reopened the scroll. He began reading the next section.

"All right, next... what's this? 'Unleashing one's full potential: the Eight Celestial Inner Body Gates, Part One - the Initial Gate'..."

---

"Where did that stupid kid go?" Iruka muttered in frustration. He had been looking all over the forest for well over one hour now, and he began to wonder if perhaps Naruto could have gone somewhere else.

As he turned to leave, he noticed something hanging from a nearby branch. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a piece of torn orange fabric. Iruka immediately realized it belonged to Naruto and smiled, satisfied. He had been right in heading to the forest, after all.

---

Naruto concentrated, trying once again to follow the directions the scroll gave him. Opening those 'Gates' was proving to be more complicated than he thought at first. In addition to this, his head was beginning to hurt...

Naruto pushed the thoughts of pain aside as he once again focused on his body. Carefully, he reached for what he supposed to be the chakra gate described in the scroll, and once again attempted to influence it.

This time, however, the result was considerably different. As he concentrated, he felt as if something in him clicked. Immediately afterwards, the young boy fell to his knees with a strangled scream, holding his head in his hands.

"Ka... my head! Why does it hurt so much? Is it supposed to...?" he murmured, clawing at his hair. He felt as if his head was going to split, and desperately tried to undo whatever damage he may have done.

As he instinctively fumbled around, he suddenly felt as if something had just split from his body. Immediately afterwards, everything went black and Naruto fell unconscious.

---

Had anyone been watching the scene, they would have seen Naruto collapse, his body flashing red and yellow, then fall to the ground unconscious as a vaguely human-like cloud of ethereal energy left his prone form. As Naruto lay on the forest's ground, the cloud began to shift ttowards a more human-like appearance, ultimately stabilizing itself in the form of a female-looking, transparent being.

This strange... presence... had long flowing white hair and her transparent skin appeared to be white with black tattoos all over it, forming mysterious shapes. Even more unsettling were her red-and-yellow eyes. They were the eyes of a being of great age and knowledge, who had seen many things, and were anything except human. Eyes almost like a fox's...

The apparition shifted again, as if her very essence was disturbed. Then a low, almost song-like murmur was heard coming from her.

{Where am I...} the creature said. {There was light, and I reached for it... and something else... another me... tried to come along, but could not...}

The apparition looked down at Naruto and her confused expression gave way to a spark of recognition.

{I remember now. This kid... he is the mortal vessel of the Kyuubi... I am the Kyuubi... or part of it? I feel as if I am it, but at the same time I am not. This is... too confusing.}

Another, stronger shift in the ethereal woman's appearance drew her attention.

{I need a body...} she murmured in her strange musical voice. {I cannot hold this form indefinitely in my weakened state. I need a material body to inhabit, until I will be strong enough to claim one of my own...}

As the apparition turned to leave, her eyes narrowed.

{If I am not the Kyuubi, then who am I? Do I have a name?}

And with this question, the otherworldly being left the unconscious Naruto and the Secret Scroll behind, seeking a new body to claim as her home.

---

As the apparition left, history apparently returned to its original track... or did it? Iruka-sensei later found Naruto's unconscious body, and from there on the revelations about the young boy's past and legacy and the running battle with the traitorous Mizuki took place as they did in another time.

But while all those events transpired, unseen changes were taking place. Changes brought about by the living will of the Kyuubi, which had escaped Naruto's body through the Initial Gate...

---

Everything was silent in the Haruno mansion. Sakura haruno slept peacefully in her bed. The house was empty, its grown-up inhabitants driven outside by the hunt for Naruto.

As Sakura lay in her bed peacefully, a shifting presence slowly seeped through the wall and hovered over to her sleeping form.

{Mmmm... this girl's chakra is not overly strong, but she feels promising...} the wraith-like woman murmured in the low, musical hum characteristic of her. Sakura slept on, blissfully unaware of the unearthly creature at her side.

With a slow, almost gentle motion, the creature brushed the sleeping girl's forehead - and instantly projected herself in Sakura's sleeping mind.

{Mm, this body feels slightly odd,} the ethereal woman mused. {It feels as if more than one personality inhabits it...}

"Who are YOU?" a shrill voice came from behind her. As the woman turned around, she found herself face to face with the pink-haired girl whose body she had just entered.

{What is this...?} she murmured in confusion. {You're supposed to be asleep...}

"This is private property! What are YOU doing here?!" the Inner-Sakura yelled threateningly. The spectral woman felt a strong pressure coming from the younger girl and realized she was being pushed out.

{Now wait a minu...} she attempted to protest, but her words were cut short by Inner-Sakura's ferocious psychic yell and a very powerful spiritual shove.

"GET OUT! RIGHT NOW!"

The woman found herself tossed outside Sakura's body and fought a sudden wave of dizziness - being booted in the middle of a possession was certainly not pleasant!

As she shook her head and regained control of herself, she looked down at the sleeping pink-haired girl and grimaced.

{Split personality...} she muttered. {What a crazy kid. I will not be able to possess her. I must hurry and find someone else...}

As she turned around, she scanned the village for chakra signatures that would be compatible with her own. In a few seconds, she completed the scan, finding only one adequately compatible host. Shifting through the wall again,, acutely aware of her fading strength, she headed for the next destination.

The Yamanaka house.

---

Ino Yamanaka restlessly shifted in her sleep. She was having a dream - an unpleasant one at that.

Sasuke had chosen Sakura, and she was witnessing their marriage. As she watched the two exchange their vows, she felt as if a knife had been shoved through her heart.

__

Sasuke-kun, she thought. _Why her and not me? Am I not good enough? Please, look at me..._

As Sasuke and Sakura closed in to kiss each other, she felt tears well up in her eyes. Just then, however, she felt a strane sensation, like both cold and heat, sweep over her forehead - and the scene froze in place. Then, a familiar ghostly figure materialized and took in the scene before her.

{Heh... puppy love at its finest, I see,} she chuckled, then looked around. {Funny, I feel as if I were at home in this body. It feels... right. As if it were meant for me...}

As she probed around, she found Ino's mind more and more to her liking - the girl was loud, obnoxious and arrogant, but basically good-natured. The ghostly woman smirked. Living inside her should not pose any problem.

Just then, a particular memory fragment in Ino's mind caught her attention. It was a paragraph from a book on the creatures known as Shikigami, which Ino had recently read. She was familiar with the Shikigami - being a mystical creature herself, she had an instinctive understanding of their nature.

What caught her attention, however, was the part about the Shikigami called 'Basara'. This Shikigami, also called 'The Executioner', was an avatar of destruction, and its only goal in battle was to crush all that stood in its way. Born from the darkness and without a goal, it lived only to annihilate, in hope that one day, the field of battle would give its existence a purpose other than destroying.

{So much like me, that one is,} the creature mused. {I too was born from the darkness, without a purpose. Will my destiny be the same? Or will I find my answer?}

As she thought about her future, she reached a decision. From now on, she would claim the name 'Basara' for her own. She would fight in the battles of the humans, and at the same time observe them.

And perhaps someday, by doing so, she would finally understand how and why she came to be... and would finally find her true destiny.

With this decision made, the tired will of the Kyuubi settled herself in her new home, and fell asleep to recover her strength.

The dream resumed. An imaginary marriage was sealed. A pair of lips met each other. Ino Yamanaka cried in her troubled sleep.

And the Kitsune who claimed the name of Basara slept deep whithin Ino's body, recovering.

Thus, History was changed.

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(A/N: Prologue... COMPLETED! I hope you liked it. Now, for a couple important things...

I currently lack a proof-reader. If anyone is interested in helping, please let me know. Just leave a review or something. Emailing me and contacting me on AIM also works.

Feel free to point out inconsistencies in reviews.

Also... this fic is going to be Naruto/Ino eventually, but I haven't decided any minor pairings yet. I'm taking suggestions... but I will NOT do yaoi, and the pairings MUST NOT BE CANON. I like to be a bit original. ^_^;

And if you have the time, read my Rurouni Kenshin fic, 'Second Chances'. Who knows, you might like it.

Reviews are appreciated, especially if constructive. Flames will be used to warm my house when it is cold.

See you next time...)


	2. Chapter 1: Destiny Unfolds

(A/N: Hello again. I appreciate the feedback I got on this fic, and I am certainly going to finish both it and my RK one. Right now I'm concentrating more on this one, but eventually I'll update the Rurouni Kenshin one too.

Anyway, let's start with some quick answers to the reviews.

LEON D. S. GEESTE: Thanks, man. ^_^

NARUTO: Well, he flunked in the manga too. That part remained unchanged... Don't complain about it, not my fault. v_v;

DARAK: Eventually, the way in which Basara broke free will be explained. Give it some time...

MOONRAKER ONE: I'm glad to hear you find the premises good. Ino... showed up after the Haku incident, IIRC. I'd have to check to be 100% sure, though.

ZEKKYU: Hey now, what you're asking for is spoilerish stuff. Wait and see. ^_^

DONNA8157: Heh. Thanks. I hope I won't disappoint. As you may have guessed, my other fic is on hold. Be patient, I WILL finish it.

TSUKINO-CHAN: Thanks. Keep following this fic, I'll do my best to not disappoint. Oh... and the 'History was changed' bit is actually a quote from Dynasty Warriors 4's endings. ^_^;

There, done. Next: you can still suggest pairings. Naruto/Ino is already decided, as are Hinata/OC and Anko/OC. Yes, Anko. Everyone else is still up for grabs, though. No M/M or F/F relationships beyond simple 'best friends', though. Suggest away!

That's about it. Now, on with the story. Enjoy!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to ^_^. The character of Basara, however, is an original creation of mine. Other OCs in the future will also be mine. There ya go...

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story and original characters, as well as proofreading;

**TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

**Tsukinosakura from RKDreams for more proofreading;

**And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course! ^__^

(_Italics_ indicate thought. Words in {brackets} indicate Basara speaking.)

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********CHAPTER 1: Destiny Unfolds********

--Somewhere--

"Faster! You call that evade and counter? You have to move faster!"

Deep in the heart of a swamp, a group of four kunoichi was training hard. The oldest of the group and its apparent leader, a raven-haired woman dressed in an all-black jumpsuit with a scythe hanging from her back, shouted orders and suggestions at the three girls practicing before her.

As she ordered them to increase their movements' speed, a gray-haired, pink-eyed girl wearing dark gray pants, a dark green shirt and protective bandages on both hands and forearms suddenly lunged at her current opponent - a strange white-haired female with burnt green eyes and heavy bandages covering up most of her face, as well as her body, wearing navy blue pants and a sleeveless navy blue shirt.

The gray-haired girl's palm struck the other squarely in the stomach with considerable force, but the bandaged girl shrugged it off with a low growl and took a swipe at her attacker with what could be best described as claws rather than nails.

The gray-haired girl quickly ducked and immediately back flipped out of the way as the third kunoichi - a very thin girl with dirty blonde hair and strange dark yellow eyes, wearing crimson pants, a crimson sleeveless shirt, a black belt and crimson fingerless gloves - came in with an obvious grab attempt. Immediately afterwards, the blonde girl blocked a backhand from the bandaged one and retaliated with a low sweep, which her opponent easily jumped over. All three girls then backed off, putting some distance between each other.

As the three prepared to attack each other again, their leader held up a hand. "Hold," she ordered, looking at a nearby tree. "We have company."

A sickly-looking shinobi dropped from the tree in question, flipped in the air and landed in front of the black-haired leader, bowing his head in a respectful fashion.

"Watanabe-san, the Onikage summons you," the ninja messenger rasped in a low voice. "He has a mission for you, and wishes to give you the details immediately."

"I see..." the woman named Watanabe nodded. She then turned to her pupils. "Kagura, Jun, Maki. You will have to continue training by yourselves for today. I will be back as soon as..."

"Watanabe-san, the Onikage wishes to speak to your team too," the raspy voice of the messenger interrupted her. "He said that all four of you are needed to undertake this mission."

"...what?" Watanabe replied. "I could understand Kagura, as she's Special Forces... but Jun and Maki still have much to learn."

"I do not question the Onikage's will, Watanabe-san," was the messenger's answer. "I merely obey his orders. You will need to speak to him in person about this. My duty has been done. By your leave..." With those words, the ninja vanished in a cloud of yellow gas.

"Rin-sensei, what should we do?" the thin blonde girl questioned. Rin Watanabe looked at her and shrugged with an unsatisfied expression on her face.

"We go and see what the Onikage wants, Jun," she replied. "I don't think that you are ready for a serious mission just yet, and neither is Maki," she continued, nodding towards the bandaged girl, "but if Onikage-sama wishes for the four of us to go together, then that's what will be done. Kagura, retrieve the spent kunai."

The gray-haired girl named Kagura nodded and sped off. In a few seconds, she had retrieved all the kunai the three girls had used during their training. As she handed them back to her companions, she overheard Rin mutter.

"I wonder what the Onikage has planned now..."

----

A few minutes later, the four reached a small village hidden deep in the heart of the marsh they had been training in. The village was unlike most other inhabited settlements, as it was unusually quiet and no animals could be seen on its streets at all. Houses made of rocks and mud could be seen, and despite the primitive materials they were built with, they looked unusually solid.

The four women made a beeline towards the village's center, now wearing their forehead protector - Rin and Kagura on their heads, Jun on her left knee and Maki on her right shoulder. Three bubbles over a pool of water decorated the protectors, the symbol of this village. A heavy brown cloak now covered the left half of Maki's body, while Rin wore a black jacket with several weapons in its pockets.

As the four approached a large building in the town's center, a pair of ninja guarding its doors spotted them. With a curt nod, they opened the doors, and the quartet walked inside, where the ninja they met in the marsh greeted them and motioned them to follow.

The nameless shinobi led them to a much bigger room than the others, almost completely dark. As the four entered the room, he closed the doors behind them.

The four stood in waiting. Jun shuffled on her feet, feeling uncomfortable in the darkness. Rin merely waited with a neutral expression on her face. Kagura and Maki also maintained a stony silence.

Finally, a figure concealed by the darkness moved at their left. As they looked in its direction, a strong male voice was heard.

"Welcome... Jun Rando. Maki Yamazaki. Kagura Moritsuna. And Rin Watanabe."

"We await your orders, Onikage-sama," Rin replied in a monotone. The voice chuckled softly, and the shadowy man it belonged to moved in front of them.

"You are not happy with me summoning your pupils, I see," the Onikage murmured. "However, they are needed for this particular mission. You see, we finally found His mortal vessel."

Rin's eyes shot open at those words and the three girls behind her gasped. "The Lord Kyuubi's mortal vessel?!" the older woman asked incredulously. "You found our Lord and God's carrier?"

"Indeed. He is a boy from the Hidden Leaf Village," the Onikage confirmed, a hint of amusement in his voice. He then continued in a forceful tone: "And that is exactly why I need your Genin disciples, Rin."

"I do not follow, Onikage-sama," Rin replied cautiously.

"It is simple, really," the Onikage chuckled. "I want your pupils to enter the next Chuunin Exams, which will be held in the Hidden Leaf six months from now."

"...what?!" Rin croaked in a bewildered tone. "This is impossible! In 400 years of history our village has never had any contacts with other shinobi communities! They will never let us in!"

"Actually, they will," the Onikage replied in a nonchalant fashion. "This year, two new villages will enter. We will be the third new entry. They might be suspicious of our sudden 'birth', but with two other new villages around, we should attract less attention than if we entered without any other newcomer village."

"But..." Rin attempted to protest.

"It has been decided, Rin Watanabe. You and your team will represent our village in the next Chuunin Exams." The Onikage's tone left no doubt that objections would not be tolerated. "You have one main mission and two secondary targets..."

"Those tasks being...?" Rin asked, resigned to her fate.

"The primary objective is to locate the Lord Kyuubi's vessel. Observe his behavior and make sure no harm befalls him, but make sure to not get discovered either," the Onikage replied. "The secondary objectives are to gather intelligence on the other villages, especially the new Hidden Sound and Hidden Moon Villages. And finally..."

"Yes...?"

"...do well in the Chuunin Exams, and bring greater glory to the Lord Kyuubi's chosen people... to the Hidden Marsh Village," the Onikage concluded. As he spoke, the doors behind the four women opened. "That is all. Train hard in preparation for this mission. You are dismissed."

"Hai, Onikage-sama. Your wishes are our orders," Rin replied, bowing deeply. Then, the four girls turned around and walked out of the door. As they left, the Onikage called out.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

Rin and the girls stopped walking and turned around. "Yes?"

"Do not die, all of you," the Onikage's voice came, an odd hint of concern in it. "This village needs you..."

The doors to the Onikage's room closed. Rin looked at them with a puzzled expression, then shook her head.

"Let's go," she commanded as she turned to face her pupils. "There is much we need to do, and precious little time to get it done."

And without another word, the four kunoichi left the mysterious Onikage's house.

--Hidden Leaf Village, morning--

"YAAAAAAAWN..." Naruto stretched lazily as he woke up. It was the morning of the day when he'd officially become a Genin.

Still sleepy, he ate a quick breakfast composed of a sandwich and a glass of (expired) milk. He then washed himself, got dressed and prepared to leave.

As he was about to get out, he remembered his forehead protector. With a half smile, he took his trademark goggles off and replaced them with his protector.

He then left his house, whistling. Today, he'd take the first step on the road to become Hokage.

--Yamanaka residence--

Ino Yamanaka woke up in a foul mood. She had an extremely unpleasant dream that left a sour taste in her mouth. After quickly drinking some hot chocolate, she got dressed up, tied her protector around her waist and left her house, muttering under her breath.

Deep inside her, a Kitsune spirit smirked. _{She gets upset because of a simple dream?}_ Basara thought in amusement. _{She still has much to learn...}_

--Hidden Leaf Genin Academy--

Naruto sat in his classroom with a big grin plastered to his face, laughing inwardly. He was very excited - he was about to officially become a Genin, and couldn't wait to see what was in store for him.

"Whaaaat? What are you doing here, Naruto?" one of his classmates asked him, surprised to see the blonde boy here. "This reunion is for those who graduated only."

"Hey! Do you have eyes in your head?!" Naruto shot back. "Can't you see this forehead protector?"

"Guys, will you let me through?" a female voice interrupted the two. Naruto looked up to see a pink-haired, green-eyed girl standing next to them. She wore her protector on her head, to keep her hair still. Despite her large forehead, she was sort of cute.

__

Ah! Sakura Haruno!, Naruto thought. _She's very pretty. Why is she here? Who knows... maybe she wants to sit next to me..._

"Naruto, get out of the way!" Sakura interrupted his train of thoughts, a mean look on her face. "I want to sit at your left!"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Huh?" he muttered, and looked at his left. His face tensed in irritation as he saw a dark-haired boy sitting near him, not paying attention to anything.

__

Guh!, he thought. _That's Sasuke Uchiha, the most popular guy among the girls. He's always got that 'holier-than-thou' attitude, and never talks to anyone. I can't stand him!_

As Naruto stared at him, Sasuke felt observed and noticed the other boy.

"What do you want?" he asked with an annoyed look. Naruto glared at him. "What do YOU want... WAAAAAH!"

Sakura, who quite literally stepped over poor Naruto, caused the last exclamation.

"Sasuke-kuuuuun!" she chirped with a big smile and starry eyes. "Can I sit next to you?"

"Sasuke looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow as she inched near him, then let out an exasperated sigh. "Whatever..." he muttered, ad resumed staring straight ahead, doing his best to ignore the other two.

As these events took place, Ino Yamanaka entered the classroom. She immediately noticed Sakura getting close to Sasuke, and her mood worsened noticeably. Gritting her teeth, she tromped to a nearby empty spot and sat down with a thump, drawing several scared looks from the nearby boys.

__

Grrrr..., she growled to herself. _Get off Sasuke's back, you big-forehead girl! Just you wait until this reunion is over. I'll show you!_

{Be quiet,} an unfamiliar, musical voice suddenly rang in her mind. Ino's head jerked up, and she looked around. Meeting the gaze of the person at her left, she asked, in a rather hostile tone: "Did you say something?"

The poor red-haired young boy to her right wilted under her death glare. "Uhh... me? I didn't say a w-word," he stammered, squirming in his seat. Ino glared at him a little longer, then returned her attention to Sasuke and Sakura, and her brow furrowed in irritation at what she saw.

Naruto had climbed on the desks, and was squatting in front of Sasuke, glaring at him. The Uchiha boy tried very hard to ignore the hostile blonde before him, but in the end his nerves snapped and he started glaring back.

"Narutooo!" the nearby Sakura growled, her face even meaner than before. "Don't look at Sasuke-kun that way!"

__

That's the first thing I agree about with you, Big Forehead, Ino thought, also viciously glaring at Naruto. The blonde ignored Sakura's words and kept glaring at Sasuke. "Go sit somewhere else!" he growled. You could actually see sparks forming in the point where their stares met, and anyone who got caught between them would probably have died on the spot.

Several girls nearby started shouting and hissing at Naruto. "Sasuke-kun, kick his ass!" One yelled. "Yeah, show him!" another added.

Before either Sasuke or Naruto could do anything, however, a boy behind Naruto accidentally bumped into the blonde, causing him to fall forward.

Sakura just stared. So did Ino - and everyone else in the classroom.

Naruto had fallen right on Sasuke's face - and was kissing him.

Sakura's jaw fell as she watched in utter shock. Nearby, Ino was barely restraining her urges to kill and was glaring daggers at Naruto. After a looooong moment, the two boys fell back and turned away from each other, savagely spitting and groaning.

"Naruto, I'll kill you!" Sasuke growled between a spit and a groan. Naruto retched, then muttered: "I'm going to die of poisoning!"

As Naruto held his throat and gagged, he suddenly froze and started sweating profusely in fear. He could feel a homicidal intent coming from somewhere behind him. Slowly turning around, he saw Sakura stare at him with a dreadful expression.

"Sa... Sakura-chan!" he croaked weakly, frantically thinking of a way to calm the girl down. "It was an accident! I swear, it was just an accident!"

"Naruto..." Sakura replied slowly, cracking her knuckles as she glared at him.

"Y...yes?"

"I CAN'T STAND YOU!" she said, punching him.

A few minutes of unbelievable violence later, Naruto lay twitching on his desk, his face full of cuts and bruises. The rest of the class was listening intently to Iruka-sensei's speech.

"Children, this happy day marks your promotion to full-fledged ninja," Iruka said. "But remember you're still rookie Genin. The hard part comes now! Yes, because the village will be assigning you to missions from now on.

In the beginning you'll be in teams of three, with two other teammates. Your Jounin teacher will give you the details. It will be under his leadership that you'll complete your first missions."

__

Tch, a group of three students, Sasuke thought. _They'll just get in my way._

All I want is to be in Sasuke-kun's group, Sakura prayed. _Please, let me be with him._

I know what you're thinking, Big Forehead, Ino muttered mentally. _Don't count on it. I'M the one who'll be with Sasuke-kun!_

The best thing would be to be with Sakura-chan, Naruto mused, _and with anybody else but Sasuke._

"Just so you know," Iruka added, "the groups have been chosen by the teachers to balance everyone's abilities. Now, for the groups..."

One by one, the first six groups were made, and their members cheered or groaned depending on whether they were satisfied or not. Then...

"Team Seven. Yamanaka Ino..."

Hearing her name being called, Ino paid attention and fervently prayed. _Let it be Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun,_ she thought.

"...Uzumaki Naruto..."

__

Nooo! Why HIM!?, Ino cringed inwardly. Deep inside her, Basara nodded in approval. _{Excellent... this way I won't have to worry about losing track of him,}_ she thought quietly, not wanting Ino to hear her again after her accidental mistake from before.

"...Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura and Naruto simultaneously groaned in utter despair, while Ino's heart jumped and skipped several beats. She pinched herself to make sure she was awake, then started giggling. _Yes, yes, yes!!!_, she repeated over and over in her mind. Basara couldn't help but smirk. _{This will be fun,}_ she thought idly.

"Team Eight. Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino. Team Nine, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Haruno Sakura," Iruka finished calling. A depressed Sakura dully stared at her companions. Chouji was a chubby blonde boy who was even now chewing on a chocolate bar. _Ugh, how FAT!_, she thought, cringing as he waved at her.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was a slim, relatively anonymous black-haired guy with an expression of perennial boredom on his face. He caught her looking at him and made a half-shrug, half-nod. Sakura got the distinct impression that Shikamaru was one of the laziest persons she ever met.

As the last team was called, Naruto shot up from his seat. "Iruka-sensei!" he shouted, pointing at Sasuke with an angry look on his face. "Why must a model student like me end up in the same team as someone like _him_?"

Iruka sighed, then crossed his arms. "Sasuke graduated with the best grades in the class this year," he explained wearily, "while you, Naruto, were dead last. Got it? It's only natural that you two were assigned to the same team, since we're supposed to balance the strength of the teams."

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed from his seat. "See to it that you don't get in my way... my dear dead last."

A low growl followed Sasuke's words, and then Naruto exploded. "What did you say?!" he screamed. "Try saying that again, you...!!"

"That will be enough, Naruto!" a new voice interrupted him with a slap on the head. The blonde boy turned around and stared at a pair of annoyed blue eyes.

"Huh...? You must be... what was your name again? Ah, yeah, Ino-chan!" Naruto muttered, rubbing his head. "What was THAT for?"

"Why don't you just shut up and leave Sasuke-kun alone?" Ino replied. Naruto facefaulted, then shot the Glare of Doom at Sasuke again. Basara cringed inwardly. _{This isn't the right way to talk to someone like him,}_ she thought shaking her head. She couldn't help chuckling in amusement though.

As Ino berated Naruto, Sakura got up and faced her.

"Hey, Ino-_chan_," she said with a fake grin, putting a heavy amount of sarcasm in the _chan_, "you'd better not stare too often at my Sasuke-kun. I don't want your leering to wear him out..."

"Whatever are you talking about, Sakura-_chan_?" Ino replied with an equally fake smile and a vein popping on her forehead. "Last I checked Sasuke-kun wasn't your property. Finders keepers. Deal with it."

"Do you want me to kick your ass, Ino-pig?" Sakura asked in a dangerous tone, still smiling in a scary way. Ino smiled right back, and retorted: "Go ahead and try, Big Forehead!"

Naruto looked at the girls with a slightly terrified expression as they viciously glared at each other, images of Godzilla and King Ghidrah fighting superimposing their real appearance. The nearby Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "What am I, some sort of prize? You two are talking about me as if I weren't even here..." he muttered in exasperation. "Don't I get to voice my opinion? I don't have time for this crap..."

"Um... all right, kids," Iruka interrupted the argument. "In the afternoon, your new Jounin teachers will meet you. Until then, you're free to do what you want. Go on now, and try to get along with your new teammates."

As everyone shuffled out of the classroom, Iruka caught Ino looking at Sasuke with starry eyes, and Naruto giving him the Super Death Glare no Jutsu. _So much for getting along with each other,_ he thought. _I really hope things will get better over time, but the beginning isn't promising..._

----

"Damn Sasuke!" Naruto ranted to no one in particular on top of a roof. "And as if he weren't enough Sakura-chan and Ino-chan got involved too! He makes me so mad... what does he have that I lack?"

As he fumed over the events in the class, an idea formed in his mind. Why not ask directly the girls for the reason why they liked Sasuke and disliked him?

With a wicked grin and an evil plan forming in his mind, Naruto jumped off the roof and went looking for a rope.

----

Sasuke leaned outside an open window, eating. That was one of the few times when he relaxed and let his guard down.

Naruto knew it perfectly. As he slowly crept near the window from the inside, he tightly gripped the rope he had, ah, 'borrowed' from a nearby garden. He wasn't stealing it, honest. He'd return it. Eventually. Maybe. If he remembered to do it.

As Sasuke took a bite from his sandwich, he felt a _whooosh_ above his head. Immediately afterwards, he felt his arms get tied to his side as a rope immobilized his upper body and dragged him inside the window. "Waaaaah!" he screamed. "What the heck...? Naruto! What are you _doing_?!"

"Be quiet!" the blonde's voice yelled over the sounds of fighting.

After a brief but intense scuffle, everything became quiet. A hand came into view, followed by Sasuke... or rather, Naruto disguised as Sasuke. "Mpf... what an idiot. Now, let's see if I can find Ino-chan or Sakura-chan," Naruto/Sasuke gloated to himself before jumping off the roof.

Inside the window, the real Sasuke thrashed on the floor, looking a lot like a giant salami. Muffled screams and curses came from his gagged mouth.

He was going to _kill_ Naruto for sure this time...

----

Ino sat on a bench, meditating on how to impress Sasuke and capture his heart. While she had the advantage of being in the same team with him, it was also a disadvantage, because he'd be able to witness firsthand her screwups.

__

I can't afford any mistake, she thought. _And he can't be seduced with good looks either, or he'd have gotten engaged a long time ago. What could I do... hmm?_

Ino was brought out of her reverie by the sight of a familiar figure leaning against a tree not even twenty feet from her.

__

Sasuke-kun!, she thought in surprise, feeling her heart flutter. _Why is he here? Oh... he's looking at me. So intensely too... it is as if he were trying to read my mind..._

Ino blushed and turned away, but kept spying Sasuke from the corner of her eye with a small smile on her lips._ I wish he would come here and tell me I'm beautiful..._, she sighed. Just then, Sasuke moved away from the tree, and Ino sighed. _Aw, he's leaving. I'm a fool - nothing like that will ever happen._

As Ino sat on the bench with her eyes closed, she was startled by a familiar voice very near him.

"You're beautiful, you know."

She jerked her head upwards and found herself staring right at Sasuke. Her heart nearly stopped right there and then. Sasuke had said _what_ to her?!

"...at least, that's what I think most boys would say." Ino's head dropped and she sighed. She knew it was too good to be true.

Sasuke walked over and sat on the bench near her. He looked at her with a curious expression and said: "Can you tell me something, Ino?"

"W... what?" she asked hesitantly.

"What do you think of Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

__

...huh?, Ino thought. _What a weird question..._

----

Inside Ino, Basara was straining to not explode in a fit of laughter. She had seen through Naruto's illusion the very moment he had appeared before Ino, but could not understand why he had taken Sasuke's looks. Now, however, she could see that he was attempting to find out why he wasn't as popular as Sasuke.

__

{Well, it is no wonder he's not popular,} she mused. _{I've seen the way the adults act towards him. They're very cold. And their attitude rubs off on their kids...}_

Putting her thoughts aside, she resumed listening to their conversation.

----

Naruto looked at Ino, awaiting her answer. The silence she had fallen into was beginning to upset him. _Did I offend her somehow?_, he wondered. Then, Ino replied, and his attention snapped back to her.

"Naruto..." she murmured. "He seems right at home in the part of the intruder attempting to ruin someone else's love stories.

"He does not understand girls at all. I can't stand him. All I care about is..."

Ino turned towards a shocked Naruto, and finished:

"...to be appreciated by you..."

__

To be appreciated... only by Sasuke?, Naruto thought, confused, staring at the girl before him. She smiled back at him.

"I'm serious, Sasuke-kun," Ino added. "I'd do anything to be liked by you. Because... I love you."

With those words, Ino leaned in and closed her eyes. Naruto just stared at her. And as he looked at her expecting face, he suddenly found himself thinking: _She's... cute. I never noticed before, but she's... really cute..._

Almost in a trance, Naruto found himself leaning closer and closer to Ino's lips...

...and then his stomach started gurgling. And hurting. And generally feeling bad. Naruto paled and grit his teeth, shaking violently. _Ack!_, he thought. _M... my stomach! Why did I have to get sick just NOW?!_

Ino opened her eyes and looked at him with a slightly confused expression. "Uhh... Sasuke-kun?" she called. "Where are you going?"

"I... I'll be back right away..." Naruto managed to reply in a strangled voice as he wobbled away. Ino looked at his retreating form and slowly started smirking.

__

Oooh... Sasuke-kun is shy?, she thought. _Who would've thought it? Ah, I'll help him overcome his shyness!_

----

At the same time, a very angry Sasuke Uchiha was struggling to break free of his bonds.

__

Naruto, you moron!, he thought. _What do you think you're doing, taking my looks with Henge no Jutsu and going around impersonating me?_

More muffled curses followed as he kept struggling against his bonds.

----

Inside a public bathroom, Naruto sighed in relief. "Damn, that was close," he muttered. "I was about to lose control of my Henge because of the pain..."

As he relieved himself, he started thinking about his chat with Ino. _She told me she can't stand me too, just like Sakura-chan,_ he thought. _I just wanted to find out why people like Sasuke more than me. But... she was really attractive back there._

As he thought about his feelings back then, Naruto wondered._ Do I like Ino-chan? But she is after Sasuke, just like Sakura-chan - wait a minute!_, he thought with a devious smile._ I could disguise myself as Sasuke again and get her to think Sasuke is a jackass... heh heh heh... I never thought about it before..._

----

While Naruto cooked his evil plans up, Sasuke had finally break free. The extremely irate Genin wandered around the courtyard, looking for his teammate with murderous intent. As he walked by, Ino caught a glimpse of him and bounced off the bench.

"Sasuke-kun!" she called, waving her arm. "You're back! Wow, you're really shy. Do you feel ready now? I'm ready anytime!"

Sasuke ignored her rants and glared around. "It's almost time for the meeting. Where's that idiot Naruto?" he asked. Ino became frustrated.

"You're changing topic again," she fumed. "Never mind Naruto. He always picks fights with you."

As Sasuke walked past her, he glanced at her. She continued: "It's probably because nobody raised him properly. He has no parents. He can pull all kinds of pranks and mischievous stuff without anyone punishing him..."

At those words, Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks and shot a strange look at Ino. Not noticing Sasuke's sudden change, she kept talking.

"If I acted like him, my parents would ground me for a long time," she remarked. "He's so lucky. Nobody tells him what to do. That's why he's so selfish."

"Shut up."

Ino looked up in confusion, surprised by the hostility in Sasuke's voice, and met an equally hostile stare.

"Loneliness is a pain..." he murmured, "...that has nothing to do with being scolded by your parents."

"Sa... Sasuke-kun?" Ino stammered, confused and a bit scared. "What's wrong with you now? All of a sudden..."

"You're... annoying."

With those words, Sasuke left. Ino just stood there speechless, paralyzed by surprise.

----

Naruto dashed in a hallway, muttering to himself.

"About time my diarrhea settled down," he groaned as he ran as fast as he could. "I wonder if Ino-chan is still waiting for me?"

As he dashed along the hallway, he raised his head and came to a screeching halt before a dark-haired figure.

"Waaaah!" he yelled at the boy before him. "What are _you_ doing here?!"

"A ninja's training includes how to undo knots," he said with a smirk, looking down at the blonde boy. "Be sure to remember it, dead last."

"Uugh..." Naruto sweatdropped, frustrated. Sasuke smirked again. "It's almost time for the meeting. Get moving. I'll wait for you in the class."

Then Sasuke walked away. Naruto looked in frustration at his retreating form and stamped his foot. "Dammit, he always one-ups me! But someday I WILL have the last word. Just you wait!"

----

As Ino sat on the bench, she dully noted it was almost time for the meeting. She slowly got up, gathered the remains of her lunch and slowly walked towards the Academy.

__

He said I'm annoying..., she thought. _Did Naruto feel this bad when I talked him down?_

As she walked towards the building, she made a decision. "From now on," she murmured, "I'll try to be more considerate towards Naruto..."

Inside her, Basara nodded in appreciation. _{That Uchiha boy is wise beyond his years,}_ she thought. _{His words will only help this girl grow up. She learned something, today - never do to others what you don't want done to yourself...}_

The Kitsune spirit briefly considered the day's events and smiled. _{Things will only get more interesting from now on...}_

----

Inside Naruto's house, the Thord Hokage and a silver-haired shinobi were having a conversation.

"So, this is Naruto's house?" the silver-haired ninja asked. The hokage nodded. "Yes."

The ninja briefly noticed that the milk on the table had expired a good three weeks ago, then resumed listening to the Hokage.

"He's a clown, but it's best to leave him in your care," the Hokage told him. "I'm sure you'll be able to draw out his qualities. Also, the group that was assigned to you includes the famous Uchiha clan boy, Sasuke... I wish you the best of luck.

"Understood," the silver-haired ninja nodded. As he left the house, he sweatdropped.

__

I can already tell this is going to be a thankless job..., he thought. _Oh well... what will happen, will happen._

With this fatalistic thought, he dashed out of the door, and in an instant he was gone.

----------------

(A/N: Yes! First 'real' chapter up! Long, too. I hope you liked. If you have any comment, let me know with the little button at the bottom - in other words, R&R as usual.

Flames, as mentioned before, will be used to warm my house next Winter, or whenever it's cold. Constructive criticism, though, is welcome. See ya! And remember, you can still suggest secondary pairings, and they can include my new OCs.

Also, if any of you are interested, I can post a brief bio of the Hidden Marsh shinobi in a special chapter in the uture, detailing what they can do. Of course, surprise would be better... but you'll have to wait until I reach the Chuunin Exams to see them in action... your pick. If there's enough requests, I will upload the Bio file.

Until next time, have fun!)


	3. Chapter 2: First Challenge

(A/N: And well met again! As usual, let's start with some quick answers to the reviews.

NARUKE: Yeah, Ino's lines follow the ones Sakura said in the manga. I considered changing them, but after thinking about it I realized Ino and Sakura are much like each other when Sasuke is concerned, so they'd react similarly. From this chapter on, though, you'll begin to notice some differences, and those differences will only grow with time.

DEMI: First of all, Kyuubi itself was NOT released. Basara is merely the incarnation of the Kyuubi's will and desire to be freed from its prison. Next, the position of the Initial Gate is irrelevant for this, because while the Kyuubi itself is locked in Naruto's bellybutton, it did take over against Haku. Hence, its will is not limited by its position. Finally, yes the gate closed, but what makes you think it'd draw Basara back in? Once something escapes, closing the door doesn't necessarily mean it'll come back. In Basara's case, when the Gate closed her link to the Kyuubi was severed, which is the reason why her astral body was shifting wildly and weakening rapidly - she had been cut off from her anchor on this world, and had to find another host. Got it now?

EFRAINMAN: Yes, well, I hope you'll like what I have in store for the future. In a sense it could be considered a triangle, since Basara is also interested in Naruto, but Basara's interest is not precisely romantic, so I felt that the actual pairing would be Naruto/Ino.

PANURU4U: The team is overall about the same, because Ino suffers from Sasuke syndrome - being near Sasuke makes her only think of him and act stupid even though she's not. Things will eventually change, however, and Basara's presence does give the team a huge boost. Sakura will also get a power boost - while she's far from my favorite character, I do admit that if she weren't around Sasuke she'd be far, far better, since she'd be more focused.

RUROUNIGOCHAN: Well, Sakura WILL eventually face Ino (their match in the Chuunin Exams is still scheduled, even though most everything else has changed). I won't spoil what happens though...

TSUKINO-CHAN: Well, Basara is a rather practical being. She finds most humans foolish, as you may have noticed. Just wait until you see how she reacts to Kakashi this chapter...

SOMEDUDE: Yes, Naruto is still the Kyuubi's host. As I said, Basara is just a fragment of Kyuubi, specifically its living will and desire. That doesn't mean Basara is weak, though - she can still wreak utter havoc with frightening efficiency, given the chance. She just isn't a destruction-lover like Kyuubi.

There, done. Again, you can still suggest side-pairings. Naruto/Ino is already decided, as are a Hinata/Maki friendship-type pairing. Also, there's an Anko/OC and Rock Lee/OC later. Everyone else is still up for grabs, though. No M/M or F/F relationships beyond simple 'best friends', remember. Suggest away!

That's about it. Now, on with the story. Enjoy!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to ^_^. The characters of Basara, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe, however, are original creations of mine.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and original characters' personality, as well as proofreading;

**TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

**The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

**Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

**And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course! ^__^

(_Italics_ indicate thought. Words in {brackets} indicate Basara speaking.)

----------------

****

********Chapter 2: First Challenge********

Naruto peeked out of the classroom, mumbling. His team's sensei was late - everyone else had left the classroom. Inside the room, Ino looked at him with irritation in her eyes.

"Naruto, will you be still already?!" she demanded. "You're really pissing me off!"

"Why the hell is our sensei, out of all of them, so late?!" Naruto shot back with a glare, then crossed his arms and pouted. "All the others have already left - even Iruka-sensei is gone."

Ino just looked at him. After a few seconds, she raised an eyebrow. "Naruto, just what do you think you're doing now!?" she asked, raising her voice.

What Naruto was doing was pretty obvious. Standing on a table, he placed the classroom's chalkboard eraser on top of the door's frame, setting up a crude but classic trap. He then closed the sliding panel, trapping the eraser between the door and the wall. Ino glared at him and Naruto jumped off the table.

"It's his fault for being late," Naruto explained with a grin. Ino just stared at him, arms crossed. "Dammit, Naruto," she muttered, exasperated by the fox boy's behavior. "I don't want to have anything to do with this. If the sensei gets pissed, it's your fault entirely."

Inside her, Basara just smirked. She could feel Ino's true emotions, and while she apparently disapproved, she actually was amused by this particular trick.

Sasuke just scoffed. "As if a Jounin would fall for such a simple-minded trap as that..."

Just as he finished talking, a hand grabbed the sliding door, opening it, and a silver-haired head popped in... promptly getting enveloped in chalk dust as the eraser fell on top of it. The silver-haired Jounin sweatdropped. Naruto pointed at him and started laughing like a maniac.

"Ha ha ha! You fell for it!!" he yelled loudly. Ino grimaced. "Sorry, Sensei. Pay no heed to this moron... it was all his idea," she apologized.

Again, Basara smirked. Ino's words did not match her thoughts - she was thoroughly amused by the situation. She then wondered exactly how a Jounin would fall in such an obvious trap.

As if to echo her puzzlement, Sasuke muttered under his breath. "Is that really a Jounin? He looks like a good-for-nothing..."

The silver-haired man smiled and held his chin. "Hmm... what is there to say?" he casually asked. "The first impression you gave me... is awful."

"..." the three children just stood there, staring at him. Things didn't look promising...

----

Later on, Team 7 gathered on an open-air terrace.

"Let's see..." the Jounin said. "Yeah... first of all each of you should introduce himself."

"And what should we say?" Ino asked.

"Oh, well... what you like, what you hate... your dreams, your hobbies... stuff like that."

"Then, sensei, why don't you introduce yourself first?" Naruto asked. Ino nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we don't know anything about you."

The silver-haired man stared briefly through his only uncovered eye, then looked thoughtful. "You want me to introduce myself? All right," he replied. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you what I like and dislike. My dreams? Well, even if I told you... and finally, I have several hobbies."

Ino's eyebrow twitched. "Now just wait a damn minute," she muttered to the others, still twitching. "Basically, he just told us his name..."

"Well," Kakashi said, carefully ignoring the twitching Ino. "Now it's your turn. Let's go in order from the right."

Naruto spoke first. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, and I like the ramen that Iruka-sensei buys me at Ichiraku even more!" he declared. "I hate waiting for the ramen to be ready..."

__

...This kid only thinks about ramen..., Kakashi thought a bit dejectedly.

"...and my dream is to surpass all Hokages in ability," Naruto continued, "and have everyone in Konoha realize how strong I am!"

Kakashi just stared at him in complete surprise. Then his visible eye narrowed and he smirked. _He's grown very well_, he thought.

"My hobby," Naruto concluded, "is playing pranks."

__

I see, Kakashi thought. Rubbing his head, he called: "Next!"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke murmured quietly. "I hate a lot of things, and I like nothing in particular. I don't want to talk about my dreams, but I have an ambition: restore my clan to its former glory..."

He paused briefly, then finished with a strange glint in his eyes:

"...and kill a certain someone."

__

I thought as much, Kakashi commented silently.

__

He isn't talking about me, is he?, Naruto thought, looking at Sasuke warily.

__

What a wonderful man, Ino thought, looking at him with admiration.

Inside Ino, however, Basara had a very, very different opinion.

__

{I don't like this,} the kitsune spirit thought, examining him through Ino's eyes. _{An aura of darkness suddenly appeared on him. It wasn't here before. If that aura does not disappear, he will only bring misery and ruin to all those close to him...}_

"All right," Kakashi said, interrupting Basara's thoughts. "Last is the girl."

"My name is Yamanaka Ino," Ino replied with a small smile, looking at Sasuke from the corner of her eyes. "There's something I like, or rather someone... ahem... I don't know if I can tell you my dream... no, no, I can't do it!"

"..." Kakashi stared at her as she shook her head blushing, sweatdropping lightly.

"And... while I don't really *hate* him per se, Naruto often pisses me off," she added with a grimace. Naruto looked at her with a surprised expression. She doesn't hate him? That's a first...

"My hobbies, well..." Ino finished, again blushing and peeking at Sasuke. Kakashi just stared with a slightly desperate expression. _I suppose that at her age, girls think more about romance than training..._, he thought.

"All right," he said, getting up from the rail he had been leaning onto all this time. "That's enough of an introduction. Starting tomorrow, I'll assign you a task."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto snapped at attention with a big grin. "What kind of task is it? A mission?"

"For starters," Kakashi replied, "something to do among ourselves."

"Huh?" Naruto and Ino looked puzzled.

"A survival drill,"the Jounin explained. Naruto and Ino looked disappointed.

"A drill?" Naruto asked. Ino joined in, asking: "Why a drill? We did plenty of those in the academy..."

"I'll be your opponent," Kakashi explained. "But it won't be a simple drill."

"...Eh?" Naruto asked, even more puzzled. "Then, what is it?"

"...heh heh heh." Kakashi laughed under his breath. Ino glared at him. "What's so funny, sensei?", she asked. Kakashi shrugged.

"It's just that..." he explained in an ominous tone, "...if I told you you'd be scared to death."

"Scared? Why?" Naruto asked, not understanding. Then he felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Kakashi looked at him. The Jounin had a look on his face that could be best described as very, very evil.

"Out of the 27 students that graduated this year, only nine will become Genin," he explained. "The remaining eighteen will have to go back to the academy. This drill is a field test with a failure rate of over 66%."

All three children stared at him like he had grown a third arm. He shot them an amused glance. "See? You're terrified. Ha ha ha..."

"This is ridiculous!" Naruto exploded. "What was all the effort we went through at the academy, then?! What was the graduation exam for?!"

"Well, that..." Kakashi explained casually, "was only to determine who had the potential to become a Genin."

"WHAAAT?!"

"Anyway, tomorrow after the drill I'll decide who passes and who fails," Kakashi said. "Bring your full equipment. Oh and don't eat or you'll probably throw up."

Naruto shook visibly, partly from rage and partly from fear. _I've come this far_, he thought. _I won't fail, no matter what! Even if I have to kick Kakashi-sensei's ass, I won't fail!_

"Throw up?!" Ino said in disbelief. "Is this test so hard?!"

"All the details are written here," the Jounin concluded, handing them some papers. "Don't be late."

As Ino looked over the papers, she muttered darkly to herself. _The problem is, if I fail I'll get separated from Sasuke-kun_, she thought. _This will be a test of my love!_

Sasuke simply crumpled his sheet after briefly glancing at it. Then, the three children got up and each went their separate ways.

----

The next morning, in the forest... WAY AFTER the time agreed upon for the meeting...

"Hey, kids! Good morning!" Kakashi cheerfully greeted the three would-be Genin.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!", Naruto and Ino promptly yelled at him with angry faces. Sasuke just stared at him coldly.

After a short walk, the foursome reached the training grounds where the test would take place. Kakashi set an alarm clock on a nearby log.

"All right," he explained, holding up something in his hand. "I set the alarm to go off at noon. Now... here are two bells, see? Your task is to steal them from me by noon."

The three kids looked confused. Why just two bells? Kakashi's next words revealed the reason.

"Whoever fails to get a bell from me will skip lunch, be tied to the log over there and will have to watch me as I eat."

__

So THAT's why he told us to not eat anything, was the simultaneous thought in all three's minds.

"One bell per person is enough," Kakashi continued, "but since there's only two, one of you will surely end up being tied to the log. Also..."and here his expression darkened, "Whoever fails to take a bell will also fail the whole test and be sent back to the academy. In other words, at least one of you will be sent back for sure."

The three children swallowed nervously.

"You can use any weapons," Kakashi concluded, gripping the bells, " because unless you're serious, you're all going to fail."

"What?! Sensei, that's far too dangerous," Ino protested with a worried look on her face. Naruto nodded, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, Ino-chan is right," he said. "You're so clumsy you can't even dodge an eraser!"

"There's a saying... 'the defeated dog barks the loudest'," Kakashi replied nonchalantly. "But let's ignore the dead lasts and let's begin..."

__

Dead last?!, Naruto raged inwardly. _Did he say dead last?!_

In a flash, he extracted a kunai, gripped it and threw himself at Kakashi, fury clearly showing on his face.

An instant later, he found himself with his own kunai pointed at the back of his head. Behind him, Kakashi casually commented: "Calm down. I haven't started the test yet."

__

So that's the strength of a Jounin, Sasuke smirked.

__

Amazing, Ino thought. _I didn't even see him move._

Indeed, Kakashi had moved so fast none of them could follow his movements. Or rather, almost none.

Inside Ino, Basara smirked as well. _{Heh, that human is pretty fast,}_ she thought. _{This might prove interesting... maybe I'll get a chance to pop out and have some fun.}_

At this thought, Basara's smirk faded. Last night, she found herself in a bit of a spot - it appeared that her soul and Ino's body turned out more compatible than she believed at first. In short... she could neither leave the young girl's body nor take control of it while she was conscious.

__

{This might be a problem,} Basara mused. _{Hopefully, nothing bad will happen while I am in this defenseless state.}_

"Well," Kakashi said, drawing her attention back to the situation at hand. "At least it seems you decided to take me seriously. Do you acknowledge my skill now?"

As the three kids looked at him with tense faces, he chuckled. "I don't know why, but I'm beginning to like the three of you," he commented, then his features hardened again. "Ready, then? If so... GO!!"

At this word, all four of them bolted away in different directions. Within seconds, they were gone.

----

Kakashi stood in a clearing, looking around. "One of the key skills of a ninja is to be able to hide and conceal his existence..." he murmured. "By now, all three of them should be hiding. Well, let's get to work..."

From a nearby tree, Sasuke observed. Ino was watching the situation, too, hiding in a bush close to the river.

As Kakashi prepared to go looking for his pupils, a loud voice shouted at him.

"I challenge you to a duel, fair and square!"

Naruto stood there in his orange jumpsuit, arms crossed and trying to look impressive. Kakashi merely stared at him, dumbfounded. "...I think you've got some loose screws in your head, kid..." he muttered at him. In the tree, Sasuke shook his head. _Idiot_, he thought.

"The only thing out of place here is that ridiculous hairstyle of yours!" Naruto shouted defiantly, charging at him. Kakashi casually reached in the bag at his side, the bells on his belt ringing. Upon seeing that, Naruto screeched to a halt, eyeing him warily.

"I'm going to teach you the first base of a ninja's combat skills... Taijutsu." Kakashi said without looking at him. He gripped something in his bag and slowly withdrew his hand.

__

By Taijutsu he means kumite, which is bare handed fighting..., Naruto thought. _Despite that, he wants to use a weapon?!_

Finally, Kakashi withdrew the object he had gripped... and Naruto facefaulted. The silver-haired Jounin was holding a book in his hand. Naruto could make out the title on its cover: _Icha Icha Paradise_.

Seeing his surprise, Kakashi encouraged him: "What's wrong? Go on, attack me."

"Yeah, but..." Naruto said hesitantly, "...what the hell are you doing with that book?"

"Oh, that...?" Kakashi shrugged. "I'm reading it. It hooked me up. But pay no heed to it. Even if I'm reading, you shouldn't concern yourself with it and attack anyway..."

"...Ggh..." Naruto growled, his temper flaring. "I'm going to kick your ass now!!"

With a shout, he charged at Kakashi and viciously attacked him. His first punch was easily blocked, and Kakashi ducked under the kick that followed. When he turned again to attack him, however, he had disappeared.

As Naruto stared in confusion at where Kakashi had been, he heard the sensei's voice behind him.

"Stupid," he said as his hands formed the seal of the tiger. "A ninja must never show his back to an enemy."

Ino looked at the scene with sudden concern. _That's a fire-based seal!_, she thought. _Impossible... as serious of a test as this is, he shouldn't use such a technique on someone as inexperienced as Naruto!_

Sasuke had similar thoughts on his tree. _He isn't going to do it for real, is he?_ he thought. _So this sensei doesn't just avoid our blows..._

Basara, on the other hand, was unconcerned. _{Whatever that man has planned, he isn't building up chakra,}_ she thought. _{I have no idea what he wants to do, but it shouldn't be anything lethal, and that foolish kid does need a lesson.}_

She was jolted out of her thoughts by Ino getting up and taking a deep breath. Realizing what she was about to do, she reflexively attempted to stop her. {No, you fool! You'll give our position away!}

Ino's eyes widened - this time she was _sure_ she had heard someone talk to her. However, she still felt she had to warn Naruto - and so she yelled him a warning.

"Naruto! Get out of there right now! Or you'll be killed!!"

Naruto looked towards her position, still confused. "Eh...?" he asked. Behind him, Kakashi scoffed. "Too late..."

As Naruto looked behind himself with dread, he saw Kakashi lunge at him with a murderous light in his one exposed eye...

...and then flew away screaming, a new definition of 'pain' having just been introduced to his posterior.

"HIDDEN LEAF ANCIENT SECRET TAIJUTSU SKILL: A THOUSAND YEARS OF PAAAAAAIN!!!" Kakashi screamed as he delivered a devastating two-finger thrust to Naruto's nether region. Naruto literally jumped more than fifty feet in the air, screaming in abject pain at the top of his lungs.

"GWAAAAAAARGH!!!"

"...so it wasn't a ninjutsu," Ino said with a disgusted expression, ducking back into her bush. "'Ancient Secret Taijutsu Skill', indeed... it's just a super powerful ass poke..."

"...so there's two dumbasses instead of just one..." Sasuke commented dryly from his hiding place.

Naruto landed in the river with a splash, and Kakashi nonchalantly resumed reading his book. Ino looked at him with worry. _Either way, he's really strong_, she thought. _Now what do we do...?_

{For starters, move to another hiding spot,} a musical voice suddenly filled her head. She started - it was the same voice she had heard before warning Naruto. _Huh... who's that?_, she thought.

{I'll explain later,} the voice replied curtly. {Right now, your priority is to change hiding places. He knows you're here now. Move it.}

Unable to find any fault in the voice's reasoning, Ino set herself to crawling away without being detected. However, as she did, she sent a thought to the voice:

__

Don't think I'm letting this argument drop. You'll explain to me just what the heck you are later...

{Whatever. Get moving now.} the voice replied with what was the vocal equivalent of a shrug. Ino moved.

----

Beneath the water, Naruto thought of his next move.

__

Dammit, he thought as he reached for his belt pouch and grabbed a few shuriken. _At this point I'll have to..._

Moments later, two shuriken shot out of the water, making a wide arc as they flew towards Kakashi. Sasuke and Ino, who was repositioning herself, noticed it. Kakashi, however, did not appear worried and merely chuckled as his arm shot out and snatched the weapons out of the air. During all of this, he continued reading.

Underwater, Naruto was throwing a tantrum. "How -blub- ANNOYING! -blub-" he bubbled, drinking quite a bit of river water in the process. As he thought back to Iruka-sensei, Mizuki and the event that revealed his true nature to him, a new determination lit his eyes.

__

Going back..., he thought as he began making several hand seals, _is out of the question. From this point on... I can only go on forward!_

A few seconds later, Naruto emerged from the river, coughing. Kakashi looked at him dispassionately.

"Well? What are you doing?" he asked. "If you don't grab one of the bells by noon, you'll skip lunch."

Naruto looked at him angrily. "I know, damn it!" he yelled.

"You said you want to surpass the Hokage," Kakashi commented, "but you don't seem to be in good shape..."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Naruto retorted. "I can fight just fine even with an empty stomach!"

At those words, both Sasuke and Ino felt their stomachs gurgle. Ino found herself thinking about how hungry she was.

{If you're so hungry, you'll just have to take one of those bells,} the musical voice was heard again. Ino's eyebrows went up in surprise and annoyance.

__

Just who - or what - the Hell are you?, she asked, irritated. _I've never heard your voice before._

{You never listened,} Basara decided, figuring that deception was the best course of action right now. She doubted the girl would listen to a demon, anyway. {I am you. I will help you. You want to impress Sasuke-kun, right?}

__

Of course!, Ino replied, suddenly agitated.

{Then trust me. I have no reason to hurt you,} Basara concluded. Ino raised an eyebrow again, but said nothing - so far, the only advice the voice had given him was sound, and she'd do _anything_ to impress Sasuke-kun...

While this mental conversation was going on, Naruto's situation had developed. After being berated by Kakashi for being careless, the hyperactive ninja had revealed his trump card - eight Kage Bunshins had jumped out of the water. Sasuke looked at them in surprise. _One, two, three... eight?!_ he thought._ What kind of jutsu is that?!_

Ino had likewise noticed the new arrivals, and looked in surprise. _Those aren't illusions! They're real bodies! Hey, Other Me, what *are* those?!_

Basara identified them immediately. {Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,} she replied. {A high-level technique that normally only Jounin can use. That Naruto boy is good.}

__

I can't believe somebody like him can use such a technique..., Ino commented. Basara scoffed.

{Never underestimate the power of determination,} she advised. {Even you, given enough focus, could pull something like that off. But you already have something of your own, right?}

__

The Shintenshin no Jutsu, yeah, Ino nodded. _But I'm still an amateur..._

{Everybody is an amateur at one point,} Basara replied, unconcerned. {Eventually, you too will be a Jounin. You can do it.}

Ino smiled inwardly. _I don't know if you really are an Other Me, but I can live with you talking in my head_, she thought. _I like you._

Meanwhile, Kakashi was confronting Naruto's clones. "Hm, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu..." he mused. "It allows the user to create several copies of himself..."

As the Naruto clones fanned out around him, he continued: "Considering your level, you won't be able to sustain it for more than one minute. You talk too much for your own good... You won't be able to beat me with that technique just yet."

As Kakashi said that, however, he felt a sudden weight on his back. Turning halfway around, he saw yet another Kage Bunshin holding him by his shoulders, effectively hampering him.

"What...? From behind...?" Kakashi murmured in surprise. The Naruto on his back smirked.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," he said in an ironic tone. "Didn't you say a ninja should never show his back to an opponent?"

As the other Narutos tied Kakashi down, one of them jumped in the air.

"After doing the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, I snuck out of the river and circled around to your back," he yelled. "And now, given the super ass poke you gave me earlier... I'm going to at least get even with you!"

"Nice diversion..." Sasuke smirked. Kakashi merely looked at Naruto as he prepared to strike.

Then the blow landed... and two Narutos flew to the ground, one of them having a nasty, large bruise on his cheek.

The clone who had punched looked at the scene in surprise. _What... I hit myself...? How?!_

The clones stood there, looking at the scene. Then a pandemonium ensued.

"I bet YOU'RE Kakashi-sensei!" a Naruto yelled. "You used Henge no Jutsu to turn into me!"

"I could say the same about you!" "You smell of old man like the sensei!" "Shut up!"

A brawl ensued, with the real Naruto and clones savagely beating on each other, until the real Naruto, his face puffed up from one beating too much, suggested: "Hey, let's break the Jutsu, so that only two of us will be left and we'll be able to tell who Kakashi-sensei is."

"...Dumbass! Couldn't you think of this earlier?!" one other Naruto growled. The real one shot back: "You're me, you know that... right, idiot?"

With a poof of smoke, the clones disappeared... and Naruto found himself standing alone in the glade near the river. Nobody was in sight. He suddenly felt very, very stupid.

----

__

What a dumbass, Sasuke thought from his tree. _Kakashi-sensei obviously used Kawarimi no Jutsu... a basic technique that any ninja worth his salt should know. Replacing himself with a Kage Bunshin must have been simple..._

Under the bushes, Ino was having similar thoughts. _What a piss-poor performance..._, she thought.

{I wouldn't say that,} Basara commented. {He really surprised his opponent, and that's a lot considering the massive gap in skill between them. The problem is, he hadn't counted on his opponent recovering so fast.}

__

That's true, but..., Ino objected. Basara merely replied: {Naruto could've slit his throat back there. Letting someone attack your back usually has fatal consequences. Someone of that Jounin's level shouldn't make such mistakes. He has limits, and that's good for you. You have a chance of beating him.}

__

Good point, but where is he?, Ino inquired. Basara shrugged.

{Somewhere around here, I bet. Hmm...? What's that foolish boy doing now?}

Ino snapped out of the trance-like state she had entered to see Naruto bend down to grab something. Immediately afterwards, a rope tightened around his feet, swiping him off the ground and leaving him dangling stupidly in the air. Kakashi then popped out and taunted the boy.

{...Sometimes he does really smart things, like that diversion a while ago...} Basara commented, slightly disappointed.

__

And sometimes he does incredibly stupid things like falling into obvious traps, Ino finished for her.

{Yeah. Let's move. For now he's out of the picture, and... hm?}

__

What...? Ino thought, and then looked in horror as she saw Kakashi fall to the ground, a few kunai apparently embedded in his face.

"Waaah! Sasuke, you madman! You killed him!" Naruto yelled, looking at his teacher's falling form... which promptly turned in a log.

__

Dammit, Sasuke thought, darting away from his hiding spot. _Kawarmi no Jutsu... again. And this time, I fell for it like an idiot. Now he'll probably know my position_.

At the same time, Ino shot out of her own hiding and darted away, heading for the approximate place the shuriken had come from.

__

Sasuke-kun, where are you?, she thought, very worried. _Did the sensei knock him out already? No, that can't be..._

{Watch it.}

At those words, she immediately ducked down behind a bush. Kakashi came into view just then, reading his book.

__

Whew, that was close, Ino breathed in relief. _Thanks._

{Wait, he's doing something...} Basara murmured, then suddenly became agitated. {Behind you!}

"Ino, behind you," Kakashi said at the same moment. As the blond-haired girl turned around, she found Kakashi staring at her strangely.

{Don't look!} Basara urged her, but it was already too late. Leaves surrounded both her and Kakashi, as he stared intensely at her, hypnotizing her.

The leaves started moving upwards, then scattered. Kakashi was gone. Ino snapped out of her trance, looking around. "Huh...? What happened?" she murmured.

{Are you all right?} Basara urged her. {He used some kind of jutsu - I couldn't identify it among all the leaves, though.}

"He...?" Ino asked, then she heard a rustling sound.

"Ino..." a familiar voice called from a nearby bush. Ino's heart jumped.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you there?" she said as she turned around... and froze on the spot.

A bleeding Sasuke lay near the tree, missing an arm and an eye, his body full of kunai.

"I... Ino..." he breathed. "He... help me..."

Ino stared in shock... then screamed.

"YAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

With that, her body hit the ground with a thud, unconscious.

On a nearby tree branch, Kakashi looked on as Ino's body collapsed.

"...Maybe I overdid it a little...?" he thought, then shrugged and went off in search of his remaining student.

----

If Kakashi had stayed, he'd have seen a rather interesting sight. A few minutes later, Ino suddenly sat up, eyes closed. After a brief moment, she got on her feet, dusting off the dirt on her clothes. That was when she opened her eyes.

They were red and yellow, foxlike.

{Genjutsu, huh,} Basara, now controlling Ino's body, murmured. Her voice came out distorted, as she was still unused to a real body and thus couldn't quite get a human's throat to reproduce her normal musical tone. {That human is more of a devil than I'll ever be. He traumatized the young one - she won't wake up for a while.}

The kitsune stretched her body, smiling in satisfaction as the joints make an audible snap. Having control over this body made things much easier.

{Hm, he seems to be fighting that Uchiha kid,} she commented, looking towards the east. {I don't want to be discovered just yet, but I also want to have some fun... decisions, decisions...}

After a bit of thought, a predatory grin spread on her face.

{Ah, who cares about discretion?} she chuckled gleefully. {As long as I don't overdo it, I'm sure I can get away with roughing that teacher up a bit. Heh heh heh...}

And with those words, she darted away, running towards the location Kakashi's chakra was coming from.

----------------

(A/N: Finished another chapter! Next chapter is going to see a brief showdown between Kakashi and the currently-in-control Basara. As you can see, things are already starting to get different from the original. I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you'll like the next.

As usual, R&R if you feel like it. And as usual, flames will be dutifully noted and accurately ignored. I welcome CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, not pointless insults.

Peace out.)


	4. Chapter 3: Kitsune and Secrets

(A/N: And back I am for the third exciting chapter! At least I hope it's exciting... Sorry for taking so long to update, BTW.

As usual, review answers first:

FALCON-RIDER: Yes, Naruto still has the Kyuubi's chakra. In fact, his skill is pretty much unchanged - what escaped was only a minimal part of the Kyuubi's power and essence. It is complicated to explain, so I'll incorporate an explanation of what happened to him in the story, after the Zabuza arc that will begin next chapter. Until then, please be patient.

TIMID: About the OCs, I should point two things out: one, they're going to play a key role in the story, and two, there'll be character deaths later on, both in my OC cast and in the original cast. Also, there's a total of six OCs that I created, so later on you'll see some more. Don't worry, I'm fairly confident I can handle the cast. Thanks for the concern, though.

As for Naruto opening the Initial Gate (NOT the Life Gate), that technique can indeed be learned through theory, IMHO. In fact, it is simply a technique to release the mind's constraints over the body. I think you confused the Gates... the basic Gate is a matter of mindset and determination. Plus, do you think a technique like Kage Bunshin could normally be learned in just a couple hours? Naruto is a quick study, period.

Anyway... he DIDN'T "learn" the technique. He ATTEMPTED it, but after feeling that bad, he decided to settle for just the Kage Bunshin. Later on, he might train with Lee or Gai to fully master it, but don't count on it - a technique that screws up his already messy chakra flow, in my opinion, is just too dangerous.

ZSYCH: Sorry, no Initial Lotus for Naruto. He WILL be picking a few new moves up, but the Lotus isn't among them. At least not now. As for Ino... as you saw in the end, things are about to radically change. From this chapter onward, she'll be less and less like Sakura, as Basara's influence extends over her. I just figured that with Sasuke around she'd, at first, be just as single-minded and annoying as Sakura. Don't worry, this chapter will DEFINITELY leave you satisfied... although you might question the intelligence of some of the things she decides to do.

As for Basara and doing Jutsu, she does indeed still have trouble using Ino's body (she just settled in it, for crying out loud!). However, she has no seal limiting her power, and eventually she'll be able to fully tap into the chakra flow that she and Ino are beginning to share. Right now, her feats are monstrous strength and speed, but later on she'll use less brute force and more finesse.

WOLFGIRL13: No offense taken. If alt-pairings aren't your cup o' tea, I'm fine. Although I should point out that Naruto isn't PAIRED with anyone in the manga so far. There are only hints... Thanks for the second chance though.

EFRAINMAN: Heh, no worries. This chapter should leave you happy. Just don't expect Ino to suddenly be all over Naruto... that'll come further on.

AF-ZERO: Read on, I hope that'll satisfy you. From this chapter on, something new will happen.

C.M AERIS: Beat up Kakashi? Well... yes, in a sense, but not exactly. Read and see.

CANAL VORFEED: ...The story is going to divert from this chapter on. Heck, it started changing at the end of the previous chapter... If you're still reading this, good. If not, well... nothing I can do.

Done again. Side pairings are still open, but be warned. The Chuunin Exams arc is approaching fast, and if nobody suggests anything by then, I'll go ahead and use a mix of canon pairings and alternate ones.

Now, on with the story!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to . The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe, however, are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and original characters' personality, as well as proofreading;

TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

Ice Dragon XXI for MORE proofreading ;

Several other people from GameFAQs who contributed opinions (you know who you are! )

And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course!

(_Italics_ indicate thought. Words in {brackets} indicate Basara speaking.)

----------------

****

Chapter 3: Kitsune and Secrets

--Earlier--

A scream pierced the air. Sasuke Uchiha looked up from where he was standing, recognizing the voice.

"That scream..." he muttered. "It was Ino..."

"The second fundamental of ninja fighting is genjutsu," Kakashi's voice said from behind him. The ring of bells punctuated the words. "Ino-chan easily fell for it."

__

Genjutsu, eh? A kind of hypnotism, essentially, Sasuke thought with a smirk. _It isn't surprising she fell for it..._

"I'm different from them," he stated flatly. Kakashi didn't even raise his head from his book.

"If I were you, Sasuke..." he replied casually, "I'd wait to say this until after I got one of the bells."

As Sasuke turned around, Kakashi looked at him. The two stared at each other.

A fight would begin soon.

--Now--

Basara jumped from tree to tree at inhuman speed. She could feel Sasuke and Kakashi's chakra directly ahead. She let a savage smile curl her lips upwards, and pushed Ino's body even faster. She was curious - this body was more powerful than she thought at first, and she wasn't quite at its limit yet.

As she landed on a branch, she stopped. She could now see Kakashi right ahead. And... what was that on the ground before him? Sasuke's head?

{The fool got himself humiliated...} she smirked. {Serves the boy right for thinking he is that tough.}

As Basara drew a kunai, the sun's reflection on it caught her attention. Staring at it, she suddenly noticed her eyes had reverted to the trademark red and yellow that Basara sported.

__

{Not good...}, she thought. _{Those eyes are a dead giveaway, and I do not want to be found out just yet. Let me see...)_

Staring hard in the kunai, she concentrated to lay a genjutsu on her eyes, so that they'd appear to be the usual blue that Ino's were. As she did, however, she found herself straining tremendously, and barely managed to pull it off. With a frown, she lowered the kunai.

__

{This is not good either. This body is still not in perfect harmony with my spirit}, she thought disappointed. _{I will have trouble even using weak low-level jutsu until my soul and this body align... oh well. I still have my strength and speed.}_

Cracking her knuckles, she trained her sight on Kakashi. A feral grin slowly spread on her face.

{Time to have some fun... sensei.}

----

"The third fundamental of ninja fighting is ninjutsu," Kakashi said, crouching before Sasuke's head. The Genin had been buried in the ground up to the neck. "But I admit you fought well."

As Kakashi got up, he began scanning the surroundings... and suddenly felt waves of wild aggression coming from his side. As he turned around in a flash, he barely managed to parry the kick aimed at his head, but found himself knocked off his feet by the unexpected force behind it and was thrown backwards. He quickly rolled on his feet again and immediately began sizing up his opponent.

Before him stood Ino... but something was definitely different about her. The savage grin on her lips did not match the obnoxious but fundamentally nice girl he had judged her as. Not only that, but the strength with which she had kicked him was abnormal. It looked as if she was in a berserker state... a situation Kakashi found very dangerous.

"You should still be unconscious," Kakashi said, his eye narrowing. "Either you have phenomenal recovery skills or... something else happened."

The kunoichi stared at him for a while, grinning all the time, then unexpectedly answered.

{Why, sensei, I am flattered,} she murmured in an odd, musical tone. Kakashi's eye narrowed even more. That voice was Ino's, but it was also definitely different.

"Who are you?" he asked. Ino's grin spread even more.

{That is an informed question, but hard to answer,} she answered, a slight hint of laughter in her strangely musical voice. {I will just say I am the part of Ino that you really do not want to make an enemy of. Speaking of which... will you indulge me and spar with me a little? I really want those bells... as well as payback for your little trick a while ago!}

Without warning, Ino's foot lashed out. Kakashi immediately ducked, and subsequently rolled away as Ino dropped her foot. The ground split with the force of the blow, and Kakashi's eye widened.

__

She hasn't just gotten faster, but stronger as well!, he thought._ This is going to be rough..._

Kakashi hadn't even finished thinking that when Ino suddenly... blurred... forward and kicked him in the chest, taking him by surprise. He managed once again to raise his arms in protection, but immediately felt the breath being driven out of his lungs by the incredible force behind the blow.

"Ooof..." he croaked as he landed a few feet away. He immediately rolled to a defensive position - just in time, for Ino had followed him, and immediately launched a barrage of punches and kicks. Kakashi had however managed to regain his cool, and parried all the attacks. After throwing a few more punches, Ino jumped back.

"How did you get so strong?" Kakashi asked, panting a bit. Ino chuckled, barely showing any signs of exertion.

{You ask the wrong question, sensei,} she answered, smiling as usual. {The right question is 'How long have I been so strong?'.}

After that cryptic answer, she renewed her attack. By now, Kakashi had gotten used to her speed, but the power of her blows still forced him to dodge as much as possible. Every time he had to parry, he felt as if the bones of his arms and legs were about to break.

Deciding that the situation called for it, he chose to use a jutsu. As Ino launched her next attack, he immediately disappeared in the puff of smoke that signaled a Kawarimi no Jutsu. He then reappeared behind Ino, just in time to catch a vicious elbow to the stomach. Doubling over in pain, he flew several meters in the air, and landed against a tree with a thud.

All throughout this, the still-buried Sasuke observed with wide eyes. _That is Ino?,_ he wondered silently. _She doesn't look like herself... she moves like an assassin._

Kakashi got up on slightly unsteady feet. He had caught the tremendous blow full force, and he still had trouble breathing normally. He stared at the girl in slight bewilderment.

"You... saw me?" he asked. Ino merely shook her head.

{No... I guessed,} she replied. {You have been underestimating me all this time... I figured you would not give me enough credit to put some distance between us.}

Kakashi looked down, then started laughing. "Ha ha ha... right. I apologize," he said, bowing slightly. He then dropped in a fighting stance. It was time to get serious.

Just then, Ino began acting oddly. She suddenly halted as if she had missed a beat, and her pupils dilated a bit. She then looked up at Kakashi and cast him an apologetic smile.

{I am truly sorry, but I must go... it is time.}

With those words, she suddenly vanished. Kakashi immediately tensed up, looking around, but could not see or feel her anymore.

Ino was gone.

----

Basara jumped from tree to tree at abnormal speed, striving to put a safe distance between her and Kakashi. She did not want to be found by the Jounin - not before she had a chat with Ino, who had just woke up, causing Basara to lose more and more control over her body.

With one final jump Basara swiftly landed on the ground, and immediately fell to one knee, grimacing. Immediately afterwards her eyes, which had gone back to red and yellow during her retreat, turned blue. Ino was once again in control.

The blonde kunoichi stood there for a while, shaking off the shock. Basara patiently waited for her to talk. Finally, Ino looked up at nothing in particular, anger blazing in her eyes.

"What the _hell_ happened just now? Answer me!" she hissed. "I know you can hear me, so _tell me what you did!_"

{I did nothing,} was Basara's curt reply.

"Don't try to feed me that bull!" Ino replied. "When I woke up, my body was moving without me controlling it. It was you, right?"

{That much is correct... but,} Basara conceded, sharply interrupting Ino as she opened her mouth to protest. {I did nothing to take control of your body. Do you not you remember...?}

"Remember...?" Ino asked, frowning. "I remember Kakashi-sensei doing... something... then Sasuke-kun..."

As Ino started panicking, Basara interrupted her thought.

{He is fine. That was genjutsu,} she reassured the blonde girl. {You fell for it like an amateur, though, and subsequently passed out.}

"I... see," Ino murmured, calming down. "But what does that have to do with you taking over my body?"

{You - that is, this body's main personality - were out cold,} Basara explained. {So I saw it fit to take over the body and try to get even with Kakashi-sensei.}

"...You can do that?" Ino asked, slightly uneasy.

{Yes,} was Basara's simple answer. Detecting her host's discomfort, she tried to calm her down. {But only when you are unconscious. Look at it this way... knocking us out will not mean defeat - unless our opponent kills us on the spot, I can always take over and keep fighting until you recover.}

"I see... but," Ino asked, suspicious, "if that is the case, why did you never come out before?"

For a few moments, Basara was silent, carefully choosing her next words. Her fate depended on her ability to convince Ino now. Telling her the whole truth, right now, was out of the question, so a mix of half-truths and lies would have to do.

{I never came out before for two reasons,} she said. {First, I had no reason to. You were doing well enough on your own, and - quite frankly - if you let a simple dream disturb you so much, you _need_ some more confidence.}

Ino blushed horribly from equal parts anger and embarrassment. "You saw that dream?"

{Of course. I am _inside_ your mind, exactly how could I miss it?}

"Uhh... true," Ino conceded. "And the second reason?"

{The recent change in our life.}

"Eh?" Ino asked in confusion. Basara sighed in exasperation.

{We have been put in the same group with Sasuke-kun,} she explained. {You're getting very stressed over this, and it worries me.}

"Oh. So that's why you finally revealed yourself. But," Ino asked suspicious again, "if you can take over my body when I am unconscious, why did you never do so when I used the Shintenshin no Jutsu?"

{You do realize that people would have pointed at us and said we were dangerous and crazy if I had done so, don't you?}

"...good point." Ino sighed, then rubbed her temples. "Ahhh, what a mess. If Sasuke-kun finds out, he'll think I am a freak..."

{I would not be so sure,} Basara replied.

"Why would you say so...?"

{Because he was staring at us as with nothing but surprised admiration the whole time,} Basara explained. She then invoked a memory of the fight between her and Kakashi, making especially sure to emphasize Sasuke's fascinated expression.

"But it wasn't me..." Ino protested weakly, feeling her knees grow weak from just the thought of Sasuke looking at her that way.

{I am you, Ino,} the kitsune promptly shot back. {Saying that the one who fought back there was not you is ridiculous. I am you as much as you are me.}

That was technically true, Basara reasoned inwardly, as she was somehow stuck in this body and had no way of leaving. Of course, Ino would most likely call it a bold-faced lie, but the blonde kunoichi had no way of knowing it, and the mere idea of Sasuke being interested in her in any way was enough to completely cloud her judgment.

"Yes... you're right!" Ino said, growing more and more excited with each second. "After all, it was still me who caught his attention... Oh, I feel like hugging you! Thank you!"

{Think nothing of it,} Basara replied, beginning to feel a bit guilty. She did not enjoy deceiving this girl like that, but could not afford to be discovered just yet. _{I hope she'll eventually forgive me... It's not like I can leave her body, anyway - I'm stuck here.}_

Just then, an alarm went off in the distance. Basara swore softly. {Curses, our time has expired. Ah well, let us go back to the camp...}

"I suppose there's no other choice..." Ino agreed. As she started to walk, Basara spoke again.

{Oh, and one more thing. Try not to speak with me, if at all possible. I can feel your thoughts without problem, and you do not want to be considered crazy... do you?}

"Most definitely!" Ino answered with a half-smile, half-frown.

{Good. I can see we will get along just fine. Now, let us go,} Basara concluded. {And think up some believable excuse to feed Kakashi-sensei. I have a feeling he'll be watching us like a hawk from now on.}

"Yeah, I suppose so."

With this, the kunoichi jumped up on a tree. Within moments she was gone, speeding back from where she came.

----

Back at the starting point, Naruto was tied to a pole and looked rather embarrassed, while Sasuke was sitting on the ground, looking straight ahead with a dark expression. Kakashi eyed the alarm clock with an unreadable expression.

"Ino should hopefully be here at any moment," he murmured. "I have to talk to her about her behavior back there..."

"Sensei! Sasuke-kun! Ah, why is Naruto tied to a pole?" Ino's voice yelled as she suddenly dashed out of the trees and ran up to them. Kakashi carefully examined her as he approached, but could detect none of the gleeful violence he felt earlier.

"Ino..." he began, still examining her. The kunoichi tensed up. "Yes, sensei?"

"...never mind. Sit down near Naruto," Kakashi waved at her. Ino looked at him with a slightly confused expression, then did as she was told. Kakashi looked at all three of them.

Ino nodded inwardly again, then her attention was caught by Kakashi speaking.

"Well... based on your performance today, I am happy to announce that none of you will have to go back to ninja school."

"...you mean it?" Naruto asked excitedly. "Yes! I did it! Yahoo!!" Sasuke merely huffed with a smug expression.

Ino, however, was not convinced. _That sounds weird... or is it just me?_, she thought. _I wouldn't call our performance worthy of promotion..._

{I concur,} Basara agreed. _{He's got something in his mind. Watch it.}_

As if on cue, Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Indeed. I want you to quit being ninja."

Everybody froze in shock at those words.

--Dining Hall, same time--

"Iruka, why did you invite me out for lunch?" the Third Hokage asked, seated at a table with Naruto's former teacher.

"What kind of person is Naruto's sensei?" the scarred shinobi asked. "Is he strict?"

"...If you're interested, look at this," the Hokage replied, holding out a small notebook. "It's a list of the results of all the genin teams Kakashi took care of so far."

Iruka took the book and began reading through it. A few seconds later, he began sweating, eyes wide.

__

What the...?!

--Training Field--

"STOP BEING NINJA?!" Naruto yelled angrily. "Whaddya mean with that?!"

The initial shock had worn off, and predictably enough, Naruto was the first to react. Or more specifically, overreact. As Kakashi looked on emotionlessly, Naruto kept raging even more violently.

"Yes, I admit it! We failed to take those stupid bells! But WHY should we stop being ninja altogether?!"

"Because you're all a bunch of scrubs totally unfit for this profession," Kakashi answered matter-of-factly.

That statement, apparently, rubbed Sasuke the wrong way. In a flash, he jumped up and dashed towards Kakashi.

"Sa...Sasuke-kun?!" Ino croaked.

{What a fool!} Basara muttered disapprovingly. A second later, the reason for her words became apparent - Kakashi had thrown Sasuke to the ground effortlessly, and was nonchalantly sitting on top of him.

"This is why I said you're scrubs..." he remarked.

{...how embarrassing. He acted without thinking of the consequences. Very, very foolish,} Basara muttered. Ino shook her head, at a slight loss for words. Acting inconsiderately like that just wasn't what she'd expect from Sasuke.

"What kind of idea do you have of the ninja's job, anyway?", Kakashi went on, staring at them in a rather unsettling way. "Why do you think you were divided in groups after graduating? Hm?"

"...Huh?" Ino breathed. "What do you mean?"

{...I see... so THAT's how it was...} Basara suddenly spoke up. {I am thrice the fool for not figuring it out earlier.}

__

What do you mean?, Ino asked, surprised by the self-loathing in her new friend's tone.

{Teamwork,} was Basara's only reply. Ino felt slightly confused for a bit, then her eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Kakashi went on with his lecture. "Practically, you haven't understood a thing about the purpose of this test," he stated, shaking his head.

"Purpose? What kind of purpose?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"...Teamwork."

This single word from Ino drew Kakashi's attention. His eye narrowed noticeably. Something was definitely different in her, he decided. "Explain your choice of words, Ino."

"This whole setup was made to test our teamwork," Ino explained. "We might have been able to take the bells, had we attacked you all together in a coordinated way. Instead, we all went after you one by one. From that point of view, we failed."

Kakashi nodded. "Excellent, Ino. I see at least one of you can still figure things out."

"Wait a minute!" Naruto yelled. "There are only TWO bells! How can you expect teamwork from us? Even if we cooperated, one of us would've been cut off! We'd only have ended up fighting among ourselves!"

"Correct. This test is made specifically to make you fight among yourselves." Kakashi nodded.

{What a devil,} Basara said in half anger, half admiration. Ino nodded inwardly. She was finally figuring it all out.

"Even in situations worse than this," Kakashi went on, "you must be able to cooperate, without thinking of your personal gain. The goal of this test is to select those who can privilege teamwork over lone-wolf actions."

"But we did the opposite, didn't we, sensei?" Ino finished for him. "I had Naruto right in front of me and could have helped him, but instead, all I could think of was Sasuke."

Basara suddenly started paying attention. That was the first time Ino referred to Sasuke without calling him 'Sasuke-kun'. {Did she finally realize he cares nothing for her?} she wondered.

"Naruto carelessly attacked you alone, not considering danger or difference in skill at all..." Ino continued. Naruto's face fell slightly. Even he could see it was true.

"...and Sasuke did the _exact same thing_ as Naruto, but for different reasons." She looked at the downed boy with a pained expression. "You only see us as dead weight, don't you? You only looked at me differently earlier because I showed unexpected strength..."

Inside Ino, Basara grimaced. _{We will have to talk about this later, and something tells me she won't be very happy...}_

Kakashi interrupted both with a nod and a clap of his hands. "Impressive, Ino. Not many can admit their faults candidly like you did. And yes, your analysis is correct," he agreed. "Now, listen up. A mission is executed with the whole team. It is true that a ninja needs superior individual skills, but the most important attribute is still teamwork.

"Individualism corrupts teamwork and places your companions in jeopardy, eventually causing their deaths. For example..." Kakashi reached behind himself and drew a kunai, pointing it at Sasuke's throat. "Ino, kill Naruto, or Sasuke will die."

"..." Ino merely sat unmoving, nodding.

"And this is what happens," Kakashi concluded, getting off Sasuke. "Someone has to make impossible decisions after a hostage has been taken, and someone loses his life. Missions are risky business, kids."

As he spoke, Kakashi stepped close to a granite slab with several names written on it. For a few moments, he stared at it silently. Then he spoke again.

"Look at this stone. All the names on it belong to ninja who are called 'heroes' in this village."

"Yes, yes! That's what I want!" Naruto suddenly perked up. "Now that I know it, I want my name written on that stone too. I want to be a hero, as well!"

"But..." Kakashi added, oblivious to Naruto's words. "...those aren't ordinary heroes."

"They aren't?" Naruto asked, grinning. "What kind of heroes are they then?"

"..."

"Well? What kind?"

"They are the heroes who fell during a mission."

The smile slowly faded from Naruto's face. The atmosphere suddenly became very heavy.

"This is a tombstone," Kakashi said softly. "My best friend's name is written on it..."

For a long while, the silver-haired jounin stared at the stone, lost in his memories. Then, he finally turned towards them, and his features hardened.

"Kids, I'll give you one last chance," he said. "But in the afternoon, getting the bells will be a lot harder. Only those who accept this challenge can eat lunch... but don't give Naruto anything."

"Wha...? Why?!" the blonde boy protested.

"Consider it the punishment for trying to eat by yourself, ignoring the rules," Kakashi explained, walking towards them. "If you try to feed him, I'll disqualify you."

He stopped and stared at them hard. "I am the one who makes the rules here... understood?"

With those words he vanished.

"Bah!" Naruto said. "Even if I don't eat, I'll be fine!"

As if to call him a liar, his stomach started gurgling loudly just then. Sasuke and Ino merely stared at him with a look that spoke volumes.

----

Minutes later, Naruto looked dejectedly at the ground. He was starting to feel dizzy from hunger, and seeing the other two eat wasn't helping.

Ino looked at him with genuine pity. She wanted to give him some food, but if she did...

{Something smells fishy here,} Basara interrupted the kunoichi's thoughts.

__

Eh?, Ino asked, confused.

{He seems to place teamwork in high regard,} Basara explained. {But if this is the case, why would he expect us to ignore Naruto when he needs food?}

__

But... he forbade us from doing it. And a ninja must follow the rules..., Ino protested, though she was beginning to wonder herself.

{It is true that rules must be followed, but you should never place them above your companions' well being,} Basara countered. {Only scum ignore their teammates in their needing hour.}

__

...you're right. Thank you for opening my eyes... again., Ino thought gratefully.

{Be my guest.}

Her decision made, Ino suddenly offered Naruto her bento. "Here. Eat something," she said. On the opposite side, Sasuke looked at her in an odd way, then looked at his own bento and finally offered it as well.

"Huh...? What?" Naruto looked on in confusion. "But... you'll be disqualified..."

"I don't feel his presence anymore," Sasuke shrugged, looking at the ground. "And in the afternoon, we'll need to work together to take those bells. If you're weak, you'll only get in the way."

Naruto looked at them with surprise. Then he lowered his head and smiled.

"Ha ha ha... thank you."

Behind a nearby tree, Kakashi listened with an undecipherable expression.

--Dining Hall, same time--

"This... this cannot be," Iruka murmured in shock as he read the notebook.

"Maybe Kakashi's tests are a bit tough, since kids are simple creatures," the Third Hokage offered as explanation.

"Yes... but..." Iruka replied, looking up with dread. "...his percentage of promotions... is zero!"

"Indeed. So far, nobody has been promoted by Kakashi," the Hokage nodded. "His tests always decimate his pupils."

--Training Field--

A burst of smoke signaled Kakashi's reappearance in front of the three kids. "Youuuu...!!" he howled, charging straight at them. The three suddenly tensed up, caught in the act. Kakashi rushed at them...

...and stopped in front of them, smiling. "You're all promoted," he announced.

"...what?" Naruto asked. Ino and Sasuke merely stared at him, the former in confusion and the latter glaring.

"Promoted? Just like that?" Ino asked. "Why?"

"You're the first," Kakashi explained as he moved to Naruto and cut him free from the log. "All the other kids before you blindly obeyed every order I gave them."

He stepped back and faced them. "But a ninja must be unpredictable," he continued. "In the ninja world, those who don't respect the rules are considered scum..."

{I knew it. He's a devil,} Basara murmured in admiration.

"...but those who don't consider their companions are worse than scum."

Sasuke merely smiled, scoffing. Ino, however, felt relieved. After all, she did the right thing by listening to her 'other half' and deciding to break the rules. She'd have to thank her again later.

Meanwhile, Naruto stared at Kakashi. _This sensei... is great!_, he thought in admiration.

"All right, the test is over," Kakashi announced. "You all pass. Starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin to go on real missions. You're all dismissed!"

"Yes! I'm a ninja! A ninja" Naruto shouted as he jumped away. Sasuke followed suit, hands in his pockets. As Ino was about to leave as well, however, she was stopped by Kakashi calling her.

"Ino, wait. We need to talk." he called her over. The kunoichi looked up at him with a slightly tense expression. _She already figured out I'm going to ask..._, the silver-haired jounin thought.

"Um... yes, sensei?" Ino asked, fiddling a bit.

{Just calm down and stay focused,} Basara advised her from within. {You can do it.} Ino nodded inwardly.

"Ino, what happened to you back there?" Kakashi asked without wasting time. Ino grimaced.

"Umm... nothing?"

"Don't lie to me, Ino..." Kakashi admonished her. "As your sensei, I have the right to know these things."

"...all right. But please, sensei, can you keep this a secret?" Ino hopefully looked at him with puppy-eyes. "Pretty please?"

"...if it isn't anything overly dangerous, I think I can keep a secret," was the jounin's neutral reply.

{That will have to suffice. Do not try to ask for anything more,} Basara advised.

"Well, then..." Ino said, drawing a deep breath. _Here goes nothing!_ "Not even my parents know it, but when I get a really strong shock, I tend to, uh... go a little crazy..."

"You mean you have split personality?" he asked. Ino nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose you could call it that. I... can tell what I did, generally, but have no real control over my actions, and memories of it feel... hazy."

"...that's odd. The Yamanaka clan specializes in mind control... you shouldn't have such a problem..." Kakashi mused.

"It isn't that simple. A very strong shock is required... the Shintenshin itself isn't enough to get me to switch personalities, especially because it isn't really a 'shock'..."

"..." Kakashi merely stared at her for a few long moments. _This girl is hiding something, but I won't pry it from her even under torture, and she does look like she has control over it anyway. I'll just keep an eye on her for the time being..._

Ino felt uneasy under Kakashi's gaze. Had he fallen for it?

"All right," he finally said. Ino breathed inwardly in relief. It worked!

{Don't get too overconfident. He hasn't believed it in the least, if his expression is any indication,} Basara cautioned her. {If I am guessing correctly, he will keep a close eye on us for a while now. Just act normally.}

Ino agreed mentally. "So, sensei... can I go now?"

"...Fine. Go home and rest," Kakashi nodded. "Tomorrow will probably be a rough day."

"Thank you, sensei."

Ino bowed and left in a hurry. Kakashi looked at her retreating form, pondering.

"Split personality, huh... but it shouldn't cause her to become stronger and faster, unless her body works in overdrive. Perhaps I should report to Hokage-sama..."

With that, the jounin vanished in a puff of smoke.

----------------

(A/N: Done! Sorry again for taking so long, but I am a very slow writer... I do what I can, but between real life and dry spells in inspiration, a fanfic writer's life can be rough... Heh.

As usual, R&R. And as usual, flames will be stored away for winter. Constructive criticism, even if harsh, is still welcome.)


	5. Chapter 4: The Demon of the Hidden Mist

(A/N: New chapter! This chapter introduces the last OCs I created - aside from Akari Hagiri, who is briefly mentioned in this chapter, no more important OCs will appear after that. Some of you might frown at them, but I welcome all feedback, as long as it isn't flat out rude. Being harsh is fine... Now, review time:

DONNA8157: Heh, thank you. I'm glad you like it. Hopefully I won't disappoint in the future, either.

STIZZO: Hopefully, the new events in the next few chapters will leave you satisfied. The cast of OCs may look a bit too large, but all of them will have relevance story-wise. Also, I should warn you... there WILL be character deaths later on, both OCs and base.

EFRAINMAN: Good to see you too. The Zabuza arc will have a radically different twist of event that effectively sets the foundation for later stuff. You will see...

LICHT SIEGER: I read your fic, but for some unfathomable reason, FF.Net won't let me review... It's good though.

LUNARFLAMES: Mercy, Master. I know I'm a slow writer. Forgive meeee... As far as your idea goes, Kyuubi is essentially the same - it is overly hostile to begin with.

To be honest, Basara is not meant to be a 'positive' entity by any stretch of the imagination. She just happens to be more tolerant than Kyuubi, and doesn't really mind humans, but if she feels like it, she's not above using dreadful violence to solve problems, and she certainly has no qualms about killing.

This side of her personality, incidentally, will eventually rub off on Ino, making her extremely volatile temper-wise. That is, more volatile than she already is, which is scary, if you think of it.

And also a good deal more cynical. I'm not sure many of you noticed it, but she was sorely disappointed in Sasuke when she stated he only saw his teammates as hindrances. It was kind of a wake-up call for her... expect her to grow more and more distant from Sasuke as time goes on, though it'll be gradual.

----

OK, done. Just so you know, I decided the pairings in my fic. One of them I can reveal right off the bat - Naruto/Ino, of course (DUH). Although, it'd be more accurate to call it a Naruto/Ino/Basara triangle... Basara isn't romantically interested in Naruto, but she feels close to him, for obvious reasons.

Now, on with the story!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to . The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe, however, are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and original characters' personality, as well as proofreading;

TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

Ice Dragon XXI for MORE proofreading ;

Several other people from GameFAQs who contributed opinions (you know who you are! )

And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course!

(_Italics_ indicate thought. Words in {brackets} indicate Basara speaking.)

----------------

****

Chapter 4: The Demon of the Hidden Mist

--Moon region, between the Fire and Earth country--

There are five great countries in the world, each of them representing a different aspect of Nature. Fire, Wind, Earth, Water and Sky... Each one of these great countries is ruled by a daimyo, and its ninja are led by a Kage, supreme ruler of all ninja of his country.

As a rule, every village pledges its loyalty to one of those countries. The Hidden Leaf, for example, is loyal to the Fire Country.

Rules, however, are made to be broken. As such, there are villages who pledge their loyalty to no one. The Hidden Marsh is one such village, whose existence has been lost in the mists of time to all but a select few.

The Hidden Moon is another such village. Located in a strip of land known as the Moon region and led by a legendary warrior known as Masakado, this village pledges its loyalty to the coin, working for anyone who is willing to pay for their services, regardless of what country they belong to.

Normally, such a village of mercenaries would draw animosity, but the Hidden Moon's strict code of honor requires them to always fulfill a contract in a satisfactory way once it is signed, no matter how much other parties may offer.

As such, the Hidden Moon ninja gained fame as warriors of great prowess and absolute reliability. Even though they serve the coin, they still retained their honor in doing so. And they always prided themselves into having been neutral during all conflicts.

But now, the wheel of Fate is turning. And once it stops, the Hidden Moon might not be the same again...

----

"Hurry up, will ya?!" a disheveled man urged his three comrades as he ran in the forest around the Hidden Moon. He held a bloody, rusty knife in his left hand, and was dragging a young screaming girl with his right.

"Shut up! You're not the boss of me!" another replied. He displayed a row of bad teeth and one of his eyes was not looking straight. "Besides, it's all YOUR fault. Did you HAVE to go and stab that farmer and his wife to death? And all of this for just a few stinkin' coins!"

"They pissed me off, awright?" the first man replied.

"Hey, guys. Maybe we got away..." a third one suggested tentatively. He too had a disheveled look, and his hair looked like they could use a good scrubbing.

"Idiot!" the second thug spat. "They went off to call those Hidden Moon creeps! We're still well in their territory. We need to get past the watchtowers - once we do, they'll leave us alone. They always do, to avoid pissing off the two neighboring countries..."

"This is all your fault!" the fourth wailed. He was much younger, not a day over thirteen probably, and clearly scared. "I didn't want to be involved in a MURDER!"

"Shut up or I'll kill ya too, wimp!" the first one growled back. The dirty young boy shrank back, scared. "Anyway, as long as we have the girl, we can pull some leverage. They won't risk killin' an innocent girl, I'm sure..."

"I'm sure that detail can be easily dealt with."

The sweet, yet ice-cold voice caused the four fugitives to freeze in fear. They turned around immediately, wary, but found nothing where the voice came from. Moments later, though, the first thug fell to the ground screaming, his right hand severed neatly.

A slender figure grabbed the girl and jumped back in one fluid motion, putting itself out of the goons' range. The figure gently set the girl down, then got up and stepped in front of her, holding a wonderfully crafted sheath in the left hand. The kodachi that had cut the thug's hand off was now resting in it, as if it had never left its proper place.

The girl's savior turned out to be a young woman around fifteen years old. She wore a black-and-red ninja outfit with a v-cut on the front, which revealed the bandaged chest underneath, and also wore red gloves. She also had long flowing green hair and wore her head protector, which had a stylized moon drawn over it, in a peculiar way - directly over her eyes. Upon seeing that, the goons laughed.

"Hey, ninja slut!" one of them jeered, holding a rusty sickle. "Your protector is out of place!"

"Heh, dumb bitch!" added another, this one with a pitchfork he had presumably stolen from the farm they had just raided. "Can't even see us like that!"

The kunoichi, unconcerned, flatly stated: "Surrender and your lives will be spared. Any aggressive act towards me shall result in your deaths."

"Hah!" the second goon laughed, waving his sickle. "We can take you. There's four of us and only one of you. And why should we listen to what a dumb bitch who can't even wear her protector right says?"

"What the HELL are ya doin', jackasses?" the first bandit growled in pain, holding the bleeding stump that once was his hand. "KILL THE SLUT!"

The young boy, though, was staring at the kunoichi wide-eyed. He had heard stories of her, and knew just how dangerous she really was. "No, wait!" he tried to warn the others. "She's..."

"YAAAAH!" the sickle-wielding thug screamed, ignoring his young comrade and charging the girl. The kunoichi merely stood there, her sword (which appeared to be a slightly longer than usual kodachi) resting comfortably within the sheath in her hand.

As the thug lowered his weapon, however, the girl's right hand darted to the kodachi's handle. In a flash, she sidestepped, drew it and slashed at the thug, once. She then gracefully turned around, resheathing her blade.

The thug stood there, almost as if he was frozen in time. Then, ever so slowly, his body broke into pieces that fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

The young girl behind the Hidden Moon kunoichi gasped, while the younger bandit swallowed hard, realizing that the stories he had heard were all but true. And if SHE was there, then...

"Why you...!" the third bandit shouted. "You killed my brother! You'll pay, you filthy slut!"

"Cease and desist," was the kunoichi's flat reply. "If you do not yield, I cannot guarantee your well being."

"Shut up you little...!" the bandit replied, charging forward... only to be trapped in a net of almost-invisible steel wires that appeared from nowhere. From a nearby tree, another shinobi jumped down. This one had blonde hair and green eyes, and wore a dark yellow ninja suit. He wore his protector on his right leg, right above the knee. The wires trapping the bandit were presently connected to the fingers of his right hand, which was tightened in a fist.

"Your fate is sealed," the kunoichi stated, nodding to the new arrival. "Bow to your fate and die honorably."

Immediately afterwards, the blonde shinobi's eyes turned golden and a flash filled the forest as he discharged at least 50,000 volts of electricity through the wires he was holding. The trapped thug shook like a rag doll as the electricity ravaged his body, then dropped dead, reduced to a smoking ruin, as the discharge subsided.

The remaining two bandits looked with horrified expression at the fate that befell their two comrades. Then the boy broke down.

"I don't want to die!" he cried, falling to his knees and crawling towards the kunoichi. "Please, spare me! I didn't mean to kill those farmers! Please!!"

The bandit leader looked at him, growling. "Ya WIMP! Are ya turnin' yer back on me? If not for me, ya'd be dead! My mistake in savin' yer worthless hide... lemme FIX IT!"

With those words, he launched himself at the young man, his rusty knife ready to strike in his remaining hand. The boy cried out in fear and cowered, waiting for the pain that would precede oblivion.

It never came.

After a few long seconds, the young boy risked a look, and his eyes widened at the scene before him.

The bandit leader was kneeling a few feet away from him, obviously dead. A strange blade was jammed cleanly through his throat, and behind that blade, yet another shinobi stood.

The third and last arrival was a very tall, handsome man with short black hair and black eyes. He wore long black pants, a sleeveless shirt that left half his chest uncovered and a long black scarf that covered the lower half of his face and hung from the back of his neck like a dark tail. Right under the scarf, his protector hung from his neck. He wore black fingerless gloves and black forearm protectors made of some sort of metal, which covered his arms up until almost the elbow.

The new arrival removed his blade from the bandit leader's throat, letting the corpse fall down with a thud. He then stared coldly at the cowering young man before him. The boy's gaze couldn't help but drift slowly towards the strange weapon that had ended the last thug's life.

It was a peculiar weapon - it almost looked like a tonfa, but instead of having steel bars for blunt damage, it had razor-sharp blades and was slightly longer than a normal tonfa. The boy was no expert, but he could tell that this weapon was very hard to use... and he could also tell that in the hands of an expert, it was an instrument of almost certain death.

And the dark man before him was an expert, no doubt about it.

"Weakhearted fool..." the dark-haired shinobi whispered with contempt. The young boy shrank back further, quaking with fear. Meanwhile, the kunoichi kneeled in front of the sobbing girl. Her right hand reached up and she removed her forehead protector, revealing a pair of very pale grey eyes. She smiled gently and drew the girl to her, hugging her.

"Shh... you're safe now," she murmured. "No harm will befall you anymore."

"What should we do with this kid?" the blonde shinobi spoke up for the first time. His voice had a slight crackling to it, almost as if it held the very thunder he had displayed mastery over.

"Who cares? He's a murderer anyway," the dark man stated in a dispassionate tone. "Just kill him. It'll save Lord Masakado time."

At those words the girl's eyes widened and she became frantic.

"Wa... wait!" she said in a pleading tone. "He did nothing wrong! He didn't want to kill anyone, the others did everything. They would've killed me too, but he defended me and managed to talk them into taking me hostage..."

"...hm... is that true?" the kunoichi asked, thoughtful. The girl nodded vigorously.

"Yes, he did nothing wrong. Please, let him go." The girl started crying again. "There's been... enough death, today... please..."

"Shizumaru...?" the kunoichi asked, slightly turning towards the tall, dark ninja. She still did not look directly at him - in fact her eyes had been out of focus the entire time. The boy realized that once again the stories were true - this was indeed the 'Blind Guardian Angel' of the Hidden Moon.

The shinobi named Shizumaru looked at the girl, then at the boy and scoffed.

"...fine, Arisa," he shrugged. "Our task was to find and punish the murderers, anyway. That has been done. The kid can go..."

"Thank you, Mr. Ninja!" the girl said with a tear-stained smile. Meanwhile, the boy sort of... deflated.

"...um..." he said hesitantly. The blonde ninja looked at him.

"What?"

"...er... I'd like to do something for her..." he said, nodding towards the girl.

"...don't you think you've done enough?" the kunoichi named Arisa questioned him with a raised eyebrow. "You and your comrades just destroyed a happy, if relatively poor, family. What do you think you can do to remedy that?"

"...I... don't know..." the boy truthfully replied. "But I still wish to do something for her. Anything... even if she'll never forgive me."

"Work for her, then," Shizumaru flatly stated. At the boy's puzzled look, he explained: "Ours is mainly a village of warriors. Laborers are always welcome, though the pay could be better. Mind you, while the laborers are poor, the warriors aren't much better off. If you're willing to work hard to atone for your sin, though, I believe that Masakado-sama will be willing to give you another chance. Especially since the girl vouched for your behavior."

"R...really?" the boy asked. At the curt not of response, he decided. "Very well... I'll do it." Turning towards the girl, he bowed. "I could not do anything for you... Whatever I do will never cancel my actions, but please, let this worthless one be of help."

"You're welcome." the girl replied with a faint smile. Behind her, Shizumaru's eyes softened for the first time.

__

Perhaps not all humans are rotten scum..., he thought.

----

As Shizumaru predicted, the Lord of Hidden Moon, Masakado proved to be benevolent. A stern warning was issued, though - if he ever misbehaved again, the punishment would be death. The boy had nodded, unblinking, and shortly left with the girl.

After the two young ones left, Masakado turned towards the trio of ninja before him. At his side stood a tough-looking blue-haired ninja with slightly feral facial traits. Masakado nodded at the three.

"An excellent job, as usual. Though I would expect nothing less from our best jounin and the two most promising young genin of the Hidden Moon."

The three ninja bowed simultaneously at that compliment. Masakado looked at them thoughtfully.

"Arisa, Hatori..." he said, nodding at the green-haired girl, whose forehead protector now rested in its proper place, leaving her strange pale grey eyes uncovered, and at the blonde genin, whose eyes were once again green. "Do you not think that it is time for you to undergo the Chuunin Exams?"

Hatori shrugged, while Arisa respectfully replied: "We feel no need to achieve a higher rank, but if it pleases our Lord, we shall do it."

"Hm," Masakado nodded, as if he had expected that reply. "In that case... take these." He held out two official-looking papers to Hatori. He stepped forward and took them, briefly reading over them with a curious expression.

"...Chuunin Exams in the Hidden Leaf? We are to be a Genin team of three with Murakami-san as our sensei and... Shizumaru as our third member?" Hatori looked up from the documents. "Inserting a jounin in a genin team is most definitely against the rules, my Lord."

"I know," Masakado nodded. "But you aren't going there just to sign up for the Exams. You're going to go there with a mission."

"And that mission is...?" Shizumaru asked in a neutral voice.

"We have received reports that Akatsuki members may show up in the Hidden Leaf in the near future."

"Akatsuki, eh...?" Shizumaru commented, his eyes narrowing. "Would one of them, by any chance, be Akari?"

"We have no idea whether or not your older sister is among them, Shizumaru..." Masakado replied. He stopped short when the dark shinobi's eyes trained on him and became hard as steel.

"Akari Hagiri is a traitor, Masakado-sama," Shizumaru replied with a voice devoid of any passion, though anger burned in his eyes. "She is not my sister anymore. Her pathetic thirst for power made her abandon the Hagiri way to join Akatsuki... I do not care what they plan to do, and I do not intend to waste my life hunting her down. But if I ever meet her..."

Shizumaru's eyes closed briefly, then he sighed.

"...then I'll kill her. The Hagiri clan's honor requires it. And even though I am an outcast, I still am proud of my name."

"Brother..." Hatori murmured, but one look from Shizumaru silenced him. Masakado sighed.

"The only name we were told is that of Itachi Uchiha," he said. "We have no idea whether Akari Hagiri will show up as well or not, but if she does, I require that you stay focused on your mission. I will _not_ have my ninja, or this mission, placed in jeopardy because of a clan's internal disputes. Do I make myself clear?"

"...As you wish, my Lord," Shizumaru replied with a curt bow, an unreadable expression on his face. He then turned around and, without waiting to be dismissed, left the room.

"The Hagiri way..." Hatori commented after his older brother had left. "I can understand Shizumaru's frustration, but this obsession he has is unhealthy..."

"The Hagiri's motto is 'Mercy for the weak, no rest for the wicked', is it not?" Arisa questioned him, her vacant eyes turning in his general direction. Hatori nodded.

"Yes, just as yours is 'Will of Steel, Soul of Steel, Body of Steel, Nerves of Steel, I am Steel'," he replied, citing the young kunoichi's own personal creed. Arisa smiled - she was evidently pleased that he had remembered her way of life.

"Shizumaru has so many shadows hanging over him," Masakado commented, interrupting the two youths. "From that point of view, he resembles the Uchiha boy."

"You met Sasuke Uchiha, Masakado-sama?" Hatori asked, curious. The Lord of Hidden Moon shook his head.

"Not exactly. But the last time I visited the Hidden Leaf, I happened to see him from afar. Some dark clouds hang over the Uchiha boy... much like they hang over Shizumaru."

"I see..." the blonde ninja replied.

"Arisa Hanada, Hatori Hagiri..." Masakado said, giving them a serious look. "I am counting on you. This mission is important, so I expect you to keep Shizumaru from being discovered. If his cover fails, we might well find ourselves at war with the Hidden Leaf... it is vital that you try to avoid attracting attention, as difficult as it will be."

"As you wish, Masakado-sama," Arisa bowed deeply.

"Saburo Murakami will be accompanying you as your jounin teacher," Masakado continued, nodding to the blue-haired shinobi near him. "His experience in the spying department should come in handy."

"Understood, my Lord," Hatori nodded.

Very well then," Masakado concluded. "Please continue training. You still have about two weeks left before the exams."

"Hai, Masakado-sama," the two genin nodded in unison. They bowed respectfully and turned around, leaving the room.

Masakado sighed and looked at the unmoving blue-haired jounin. "What do you think will happen, Saburo? Now that Akatsuki is moving, what will happen?"

"I don't know, my Lord," Saburo replied. "But no matter what, I think Akatsuki will soon reveal itself to the world."

"Yes..." Masakado nodded. "Let's just hope the day when they reveal themselves won't also be the beginning of the end..."

--Hidden Leaf village, one week later--

In the Hidden Leaf's reception office, Naruto was fuming. He and Team 7 had just completed a 'mission', if one could call it that - retrieve a lost cat for the wife of the Fire Country's daimyo. All the mission Team 7 took on during the last week were essentially like that, and the hyperactive ninja was getting restless - he wanted more action!

Ino Yamanaka was in a similar state of mind. Or rather, Basara was, and her feelings were washing over Ino's, causing her to feel frustrated as well.

{I normally don't agree with Naruto, but this time he's right,} Basara complained for the umpteenth time. {These missions are a ridiculous waste of time - none of us will be able to grow that way.}

__

There's nothing I can do about it, a frustrated Ino replied with a grimace.

{Yes, there is. Voice your complaints.} Basara shot back. {You need a mission that will truly put your lives on the line... that is when a ninja has the best chance to learn something.}

__

And if we fail...?, Ino asked, not liking the whole 'risk life and limb' thing.

{Then you will die,} Basara replied matter-of-factly. {So don't fail. Simple enough.}

__

Ugh. You make it sound easier than it is, Basara, Ino commented. She had taken to calling her inner voice with that name because she had insisted. While she found it odd she'd choose a creepy name like that of the Shikigami of Destruction, she did not complain.

Basara had been close to her in the last week, during which she had somehow gotten over the shock of realizing how little she truly meant for Sasuke. One could say she had suddenly grown several years older - and wiser. She still acted like the usual Ino - but she no longer followed Sasuke everywhere, and was merely friendly towards him instead of obsessively stalking him.

A large part of this change was due to her inner friend. While she had been downright rude at times, Basara always made good points and managed to get her out of the bouts of depression she had been having in the past days. Ino may have become somewhat less suave, but she was certain that, had Basara not been around to help, she'd have committed suicide in the past week.

Ino's reminiscing was suddenly interrupted by Naruto's loud voice. The blonde genin was, for a change, complaining.

"Hokage-sama, I want to taken on more challenging missions!" he shouted, crossing his arms. "Please give us something better! Those last missions have been boring and nothing else!"

__

He has a point..., Sasuke thought with a frown.

__

Huh. I knew he'd complain, Kakashi sighed. The blonde kid could be so predictable at times.

"Idiot!" Iruka-sensei stood up, giving Naruto an angry look. "You're all just rookies! Start with the easy missions, to build up experience. Then you'll move on to the harder ones."

"But so far, you only gave us crappy missions!" Naruto shouted back.

"That's enough, Naruto," Kakashi reprimanded the hyperactive blonde, bopping him on the head. Then, unexpectedly, Ino spoke up.

"I agree with Naruto, Hokage-sama," the blonde kunoichi said in a quiet but forceful tone. "Those missions may contribute to the well being of the village, but we are hardly making any improvements skill-wise this way."

The Hokage looked at Ino with a surprised expression. The young kunoichi had underwent an odd change in the few days after Kakashi had come to him with a report of the test he ran Team 7 through. She no longer fawned over the Uchiha boy like she used to, and there were days when she had a far away look, as if she was listening to something no one else could hear.

The Hokage had listened to Kakashi's report of Ino's erratic behavior, and had agreed that the jounin should pay special attention to her, for she was obviously hiding something. However, this was the first time he could see for himself how much she had changed in just a week. The old Ino would have complained just as loudly as Naruto. This new, cooler Ino, however, didn't even raise her voice, but the determination in her every word was apparent.

The Hokage stared at her with a pensive look for a long while. No one else in the room spoke. Ino held her gaze steadily, never once looking away from him. After a while, the Hokage sighed.

"All right," he said. "Since you want it so much, I'll assign you to a C-class mission. You'll need to protect a certain individual..."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "Who is it we'll have to protect? A daimyo? Or a princess?"

"Calm down," the Hokage smiled. "I'll now introduce you to him... please, come in."

With those words, the door on the left side of the room opened, and a figure stumbled in.

The newcomer was a bearded man with glasses, wearing rough pants, a sleeveless shirt and a backpack. He held a bottle of sake in his hand, and was obviously a bit drunk. Several scars crossed his arms.

"What?" he muttered, looking at the group in front of him. "They're all kids! And you... I'm talking to you, stupid-looking brat... are you really a ninja?"

"Ha ha ha... who would be the stupid-looking brat?" Naruto laughed, looking at Sasuke and Ino. Sasuke merely ignored him. Ino, on the other hand, shot a strange look at the old man.

Realizing that the man was talking about him, Naruto became angry. "Why you... I'll kill you, old geezer!" he said, taking a step forward. However, a delicate yet strong hand stopped him. Looking over his shoulder, he gave Ino a questioning look.

"Remember, you asked for a harder mission," Ino murmured softly. "This man is very rude, but don't let it get to you. The important thing is that this should be more challenging than, say... babysitting. Besides, isn't it a bit stupid to kill the person you're supposed to protect?"

Naruto's fury faded as he nodded at the blonde kunoichi, feeling a bit embarrassed. "You're right, Ino-chan," he replied with a big grin, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry if I overreacted."

Ino nodded, feeling a bit red in the face. She had been hanging around Naruto a bit more since the... event of one week ago, and while she hated to admit it, the loud-mouthed ninja was proving to be much better company than Sasuke. For one thing, he actually _talked to her_... even though all he ever talked about was ramen!

Kakashi followed the brief exchange with a raised eyebrow. _Well, this is a surprise_, he thought. _I noticed that Ino and Naruto were getting along well, but it seems they got pretty close in just one week. It should be interesting to see how their teamwork is now..._

The Hokage also noticed the same thing, and decided that he should check on Naruto and especially Ino more often. Things were taking an unexpected turn.

"I am Tazuna, the great bridge maker," the old man said after the commotion had subsided. "You'll protect me with your lives, until the bridge I am building will be completed."

Naruto nodded, excited. Finally, he had a chance to prove himself!

Ino had similar thoughts. _Interesting... I've never been outside the Hidden Leaf_, she mused. _I wonder how the outside world is?_

{I am curious, too,} Basara sincerely answered. She held almost no memory from the Kyuubi, besides her strong instinct and a generic knowledge of what she was born from, so the outside world was as new to her as it was to Ino. {I wonder if we will get into any big fights during this trip?}

__

I'd rather NOT get into fights at all, Ino replied. _On the other hand, a fight would be excellent training, right?_

{Hmm,} Basara muttered. That wasn't exactly the reason why she wanted to get in a fight. The real reason was much simpler: she felt very frustrated from the lack of excitement of the last days, and her savage side wanted to see blood flow.

Of course, she couldn't tell that to Ino, but the kitsune realized that sooner or later she would have to tell her the truth. Her own emotions and urges had been rubbing off on Ino in the past days, which meant that her soul and the blonde girl's were becoming more and more attuned to each other. Eventually, Ino would notice urges she had never felt before, and that would make her suspicious.

For the time being, though, the kitsune preferred not to think about what she'd eventually have to do. She genuinely liked the time she spent chatting with the young human, and she dreaded the moment when she'd have to reveal her true nature to her, for it would probably mean the end of their friendship.

{Well, let's just get ready,} Basara concluded, pushing her dark thoughts away. Ino nodded inwardly, and Team 7 walked away in preparation for their first challenging mission.

A mission that would soon take a turn for the worse.

----

"We're leaving!!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically. The team was now at the Hidden Leaf's main entrance, decked out in full battle and travel gear. Kakashi looked at him with a slightly desperate expression.

"There's no need to get so worked up over this..." the masked jounin muttered.

"You bet there is!" Naruto countered, eagerly looking around. "I've never been out of the village before!"

"Hey you," Tazuna asked Kakashi, pointing at Naruto, "Are you sure this brat is reliable?"

"Ha ha ha..." Kakashi laughed weakly. "Don't worry, I'm here too, and I am a jounin..."

Naruto didn't take to the comments too kindly. He spun around and faced Tazuna, pointing at him with a challenging look in his eyes.

"Hey, old man! You shouldn't underestimate me!" he shouted. "I am a great ninja, and someday I'll be Hokage! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and you'd better remember it!"

"Isn't the Hokage the best ninja in the village?" Tazuna asked with a skeptical expression. "I doubt you can become Hokage, kid..."

"Gahhh! Shaddup!" Naruto yelled even louder. "I'm ready to do anything to become Hokage! And when I do it, even you'll have to recognize my skills!"

Tazuna just looked at him for a long while, sipping from his sake bottle. He then turned around with a scoff.

"I'll never respect you, kid," he stated flatly, "Not even if you were to become Hokage."

"That will be enough, Tazuna-san."

Ino's voice interrupted the discussion, and the old man gave her a surprised look. The kunoichi returned a steady gaze.

"I have no idea why you feel so overly hostile towards Naruto, but I'll have you know that unless you have faith in our ability, we will never be able to protect you," the blonde girl stated in a carefully neutral tone. Then her eyes hardened slightly. "And at any rate, I am sure you would be less than pleased if I showed the same lack of respect you're giving Naruto towards your bridge-building skills. You might want to consider the wisdom in the words 'Do not do to others what you don't want done to yourself'."

With those words, the kunoichi turned around and briskly walked off, leaving everyone, particularly Naruto, watching her back with surprised expressions. That is, everyone except Kakashi, who had expected this to happen.

__

I'm surprised she didn't just outright explode, he thought. _Her temper has become increasingly more intolerant over the last two days, especially where Naruto is concerned, and she had already displayed some animosity towards Tazuna-san when he insulted Naruto in the reception. I had better keep an eye on her... if she completely loses patience, Tazuna-san might not get out of it with all his bones intact. Although_, he conceded looking at Ino's walking figure, _he highly deserved that small rant. He went a bit too far._

As these events happened, a pair of menacing figures watched from a nearby tree...

----

"Tazuna-san," Ino spoke up later. "You come from the Wave Country, correct?"

"Yeah, I do," the old man replied in a defensive tone, not having forgotten the unexpected verbal whipping the blonde girl gave him earlier. "So what?"

"Kakashi-sensei, are there ninja in the Wave country?" Ino asked, pointedly ignoring Tazuna's own question. Kakashi sighed. It was obvious Ino had little sympathy for the old man.

"No, the Wave Country doesn't have ninja," he replied, "but in general the other countries do. They may have different uses and costumes, but they include a ninja village."

Kakashi went on to explain about how ninja villages are essentially a country's military force, despite not being under direct control of a country's daimyo, and about how only the ninja leaders of the five most powerful countries take the title of 'Kage'. Hokage, Raikage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, Kazekage... those five, the five Kages, rule over all the other ninja in the world.

{That old man must have great skill to be so strong,} Basara commented at that. {Heh... such words make my blood boil. I wish I could fight him, just once...}

__

We'd most likely lose, Ino pointed out. Basara scoffed.

{Most likely, yes,} she replied. {So what? I don't care about winning, so long as I get a good fight.}

__

You're weird, Ino muttered. _Sometimes I wonder what part of me gave birth to you..._

Basara wisely decided to just let the argument drop. When a conversation veered towards that topic, she always began feeling uneasy, as she had grown unexpectedly fond of the human cub hosting her in the past days, and did not really want to lie to her again.

"There's no need to be worried, Ino," Kakashi said, misunderstanding her sudden silence. "We won't have to fight other ninja in a C-class mission."

"Hmm..." Ino replied neutrally. She was busy looking at Tazuna, who had flinched visibly at those words. She noticed Sasuke watching the old man as well and wondered if he was suspicious of it too.

{That old fool is hiding something, Ino,} Basara spoke up as if on cue. {And Sasuke most likely noticed it too. Be careful. I suspect things will turn ugly very soon... hm?}

__

What is it?, Ino asked, curious of why Basara suddenly fell silent.

For a while, the kitsune said nothing, and Ino wondered what was wrong as she idly walked by a shallow pool of water. Then, Basara spoke up.

{Say, Ino, how long has it been since it last rained?}

__

Huh?, the blonde genin asked. _I think it was about three or four days... why do you ask?_

{...is it normal for pools of water to still be there after this long, and with such a warm sun...?}

"...!!"

As soon as Ino realized the implications of Basara's words, she turned around, just in time to see two strange ninja wrap a barbed chain around Kakashi-sensei... and pull.

Team Seven watched in horror as their sensei was shredded to pieces, frozen on the spot by shock.

"One down," one of the two ninja murmured. Then they suddenly disappeared, and reappeared behind Naruto, flanking him. "Here's the next one," the second mysterious ninja said.

Sasuke was the first to react to danger. He jumped in the air and quickly threw a shuriken and a kunai in succession at the chain connecting the two ninja's arms, sticking it to a tree. The unexpected action caused the two ninja to pause, allowing Sasuke to land on top of them. He then grabbed their clawed hands and immediately kicked them in the face.

The ninja reacted just as quickly, though - they immediately detached the chain from their claws and went after two different targets - one attacked Naruto, and the other went after Tazuna.

That was when Ino sprang into action. She immediately dashed in front of Tazuna, and a strange exhilaration swept over her as she drew a kunai. Instead of staying on the defensive, she dashed forward with a savage grin, surprising the enemy ninja, and narrowly missed his face with a stab that would no doubt have killed him had it connected.

The ninja jumped back immediately. Meanwhile, his companion had viciously lashed out at Naruto. Both ninja immediately darted forward, renewing their attack, and Sasuke moved as well to intercept the one attacking Ino...

...when Kakashi appeared more or less from nowhere and immediately knocked the two ninja unconscious with a few rapid blows.

"...Kakashi-sensei is alive...?" Ino murmured in surprise, her exhilaration vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

{Kawarimi no jutsu, huh,} Basara commented, her voice ever so slightly altered. She felt disappointed that Ino hadn't managed to kill her opponent, but reasoned that there'd be more occasions. After all, it looked as if whatever it is Tazuna had been hiding was bigger than she thought at first.

__

Ah... of course, Ino replied, understanding. _It felt a bit... odd that Kakashi-sensei would fall so easily..._

{More like impossible,} Basara corrected her. {Someone of his rank and skill doesn't live that long by falling into ambushes this easily. By the way, take a look at Naruto. I suspect those ninja's claws were poisoned.}

Kakashi confirmed her words at the same time. "Naruto, get your hand treated right now," he said "There's poison on these two's claws."

Naruto looked in horror at his hand as Kakashi continued speaking. "We must open the wound and remove the poisoned blood. Don't move too much or the poison will spread through your body."

As he walked towards a tree, Kakashi turned slightly towards Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san, I need to talk to you."

----

"They are Mist ninja," Kakashi said, looking at the now tied shinobi. "I'm guessing these two are chuunin. They're known for fighting without concerning themselves with the number of victims they cause."

"How did you predict our attack?" one of the two asked.

"Blame the good weather," Ino replied for Kakashi. He glanced at her with an appreciative look and nodded.

"Ino is correct. The weather has been dry for a number of days now," he explained. "Pools of water are unusual under these conditions, to say the least."

"Why did you let the kids fight if you knew?" Tazuna asked the jounin.

"If I wanted to, I could've taken them both out in no time..." Kakashi said, shooting an eloquent glance at Tazuna. "But I needed to know just _who_ it was they were after..."

"...what do you mean?" Tazuna asked cautiously.

"Kakashi-sensei is saying he needed to know whether those two were after you or one of us," Ino interrupted again, this time in a decidedly hostile voice. "You said nothing about ninja when you explained the mission to us. Why did you lie?"

"Yes, that is what I'd like to know too," Kakashi agreed. "Your request only mentioned generic bandits and raiders, but if ninja are involved, this mission is beyond D-class.

"..." Tazuna said nothing, lowering his gaze.

"You asked us to protect you until your bridge is complete," Kakashi continued, "but if the enemies are ninja, this mission would be placed in the more expensive B-class. Your behavior may be motivated, but you're making things difficult for us if you lie to us when requesting help. Now we're outside the mission parameters."

"What are we going to do then?" Ino asked. "The enemies are at least chuunin, while we're just rookies. I'm not entirely sure we could take them, and on top of that Naruto needs medical attention. We need to remove the poisoned blood and clean his wound..."

"Hmmmm..." Kakashi thought, looking back and forth between Ino and Naruto. "What would you do, Ino?"

"Why do you ask, sensei?" Ino replied. "You're the team leader... it's your call."

"...things seem to get steadily worse lately..." Kakashi sighed, looking at Naruto's hand. The fox boy tensed up. "Let's go back and get Naruto treated."

Those words proved to be too much for the Genin. With a quick motion, he grabbed one of his kunai and immediately stabbed himself through the hand, letting his blood flow under the shocked gazes of his companions.

__

Why am I the one who always causes problems? Damn it!, Naruto thought furiously as he twisted the blade in the wound. _I'm getting stronger and stronger... I train by myself, and I completed missions with the others..._

I swear! I'll never need someone's help again! I'll never be scared again, or run again! And I'll never be inferior to Sasuke! I swear it on this pain!

As the others looked on, Naruto turned towards them, a pained, savagely determined grin on his face.

"With this kunai..." he hissed through clenched teeth, "...I'll protect the old man. The mission continues!"

For a long while, no one said anything. Then, Kakashi smiled.

"Naruto, it is all right to drain the poisoned blood away..." he said, then pointed at his hand with a mischievous grin. "But if you keep it up much longer, you'll die of blood loss."

Naruto's determined expression left place to a horrified one and he started panicking loudly.

"What? Nooo! I can't die like that!" he shouted frantically. "Do something, sensei! I'm too young to die!"

"Sensei, I'll take care of it, if you don't mind," Ino stepped in. Kakashi gave her an unreadable look, then nodded.

"All right, he's all yours."

Ino stepped close to the unnerved Naruto and wordlessly motioned for him to show her the injured hand. He complied immediately.

"Naruto, you're a masochist," she murmured while ripping a part of her uniform off. "What's the point in punching a hole in your hand? You're lucky you didn't destroy your bones..."

She suddenly fell silent, observing the wound. Maybe she was seeing things...

No, she wasn't imagining it. The wound was sealing already.

{Ah!} Basara, who had been silent up until then, exclaimed. {That's...}

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What is it?, Ino asked.

{...never mind.} the kitsune replied. {This is neither the time nor the place to talk about it. Let me think it over a bit more. I'll tell you as soon as I reach a conclusion.}

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Well... fine, Ino nodded inwardly. _But I've never quite seen anyone heal this fast. Is something wrong with Naruto?_

{Later. I promise to explain,} Basara repeated. {But you may very well not like what I tell you.}

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I see...

"Hey, Ino-chan," Naruto piped up, noticing she had gone eerily silent and stopped moving. "I...is it that bad? You're all serious... am I going to die?"

"...what? No!" she replied with a snort, and proceeded to quickly bandage his wound in a crude but efficient way. "If a little cut like this can kill you, how the hell did you survive the past week's missions?"

"Er, uh..." Naruto scratched his head. He felt a bit embarrassed, as Ino was unusually near him and he'd found himself thinking of the blonde genin more often than usual lately. And she looked so _cute_...

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Argh! Where'd that come from?!, Naruto thought, blushing slightly. _I'm not a pervert! I'm not!_

Ino paid no heed to the red tinge on Naruto's face, concentrating on his hand instead.

Basara, however, did notice. And chuckled.

--Somewhere in the Wave Country--

A short, shady-looking businessman stalked angrily in a room, followed by two sinister-looking men. He walked to the other side of the room and stopped in front of a couch occupied by a creepy, evil-looking shinobi.

The seated shinobi had bandages randomly covering parts of his body and face, wore striped pants, camo leggings and wristbands, and wore his protector diagonally across the head. His emotionless eyes fixated themselves on the small man in front of him, who wore a business suit and sunglasses.

"You failed!" the short man shouted angrily. "I hired you at a high price because I was told you were pros!"

The ninja briefly stared at the man before him, then lazily reached behind him and gripped the hilt of a gigantic sword hanging from his back. With a swishing sound, he effortlessly lifted it with one arm and pointed it at the businessman.

"You complain too much," the creepy ninja murmured. "Next time, I'll kill the old man myself... with my little knife."

"A... are you sure you can do it?" the shady-looking man asked him. "He hired a renowned ninja as well, from what I heard. And after the Devil Brothers' attack, they'll be on guard..."

"Who do you think I am, little man?" the shinobi interrupted him in a dangerous tone. He shot the man before him a chilling gaze, causing him to take a few nervous steps backwards.

"I am Zabuza Momochi..." he finished, with a tone as chilling as his eyes. "I am the Demon of the Hidden Mist."

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(A/N: Over! Liked it? Loathed it? Want to worship me? I suck? R&R!

Just so you know, I'll soon go on Summer vacation, so updates might be erratic for a while - that is, MORE erratic than they already are. --; I'll try to update regularly, but due to my lack of a laptop, I'm limited to two hours per week of PC in the local library, so things will be difficult.

Hopefully, this will not cause you to abandon my fic in discomfort. Your support is what drove me to write a new chapter faster than usual. Thanks to all my reviewers! Happy 4th of July!)


	6. Special Chapter: Meet the Newcomers

(A/N: Welcome to the Special Chapter! In this interlude, I will introduce you to all the OCs, their quirks and their background, as well as some of their most exciting (hopefully) abilities.

First, I notice I have reviews already, so let's answer them:

K3: Sorry, no spoilers :P

BABOWONSUNI: No, Naruto still has the Kyuubi. What escaped was only the Kyuubi's will to be free. But even that will was a demon's force, and so it became a being of its own.

LUMINARA UNDULI: Here you go. Heh. How convenient that I wanted to put up the bios anyway...

DAN INVERSE: Actually, Basara WILL teach Ino a few tricks. One of them will pop out within the next 3 chapters. :P Heh heh.

Done. Now, I present you with the CHARACTER BIOS! Have fun imagining how they stack up to Naruto characters. And have fun guessing who will fight who at the Chuunin Exams :P

On with the bios!)

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_NOTE_: the skill section uses a 1-10 scale.

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BASARA

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Ancient Kitsune Spirit

Rank: N/A (technically a Genin since she is possessing Ino Yamanaka)

Age: Unknown

Hair: White

Eyes: Red/Yellow

Weapon: Bare hands (but knows how to use 90 of the weapons out there with limited proficiency)

Seals: 5

Ninjutsu: 6

Taijutsu: 7

Genjutsu: 8

Intelligence: 9

Strength: 10

Speed: 9

Stamina: 10

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_Personal info_: The Kyuubi's living will and desire for freedom. Basara is, for lack of a better term, ancient - though her appearance is oddly youthful, she talks and acts with wisdom far beyond that of most humans. Even her viciously short temper does not prevent her from thinking before acting.

Basara's specialty lies in long-range fighting, with a collection of various chakra-based projectiles, one more dangerous than the other. Because of this, trying to keep distance is not a good idea. However, due to her unnatural strength and speed, close combat with Basara is not a wise idea either.

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--Reigi no Ishizue: Rei Fuujiruu (Foundation of the Zero Skill: Zero Seal)

Basara's devastating trademark jutsu. This incredibly powerful attack concentrates a massive amount of chakra on the palm of Basara's left hand. Basara will then proceed to strike her opponent. As a result, the chakra injected in her opponent's body will immediately seal off his/her entire chakra reserve, disabling any and all jutsu that require it. In essence, it is a limited-time mini-seal that completely locks the opponent's jutsu, as well as any chakra-reliant Bloodline Limit.

The downside is that if Basara misses, she'll be a sitting duck, as this jutsu uses up 90 of her own chakra reserves, leaving her extremely weak and in a very bad position. Due to this, Basara only uses this jutsu either as a last resort or if she has reliable backup.

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SHIZUMARU HAGIRI

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Hidden Moon Special Jounin - "Shadowwalker"

Rank: Jounin (currently posing as a Genin)

Age: 16

Hair: Black

Eyes: Black

Weapon: Customized bladed tonfa

Seals: 7

Ninjutsu: 8

Taijutsu: 6

Genjutsu: 7

Intelligence: 5

Strength: 7

Speed: 7

Stamina: 7

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_Personal Info_: An elite jounin of the Hidden Moon, sent undercover at the Chuunin Exams to gather information on the Hidden Sound and Hidden Marsh villages. He is the only Hagiri clan member in whom the bloodline ability isn't present, making him sort of an outcast in the clan. However, his fighting skills aren't in discussion, and many believe him to be the toughest shinobi alive besides the Kages and Sennin.

The lack of a bloodline limit caused Shizumaru to seek out alternative techniques, which resulted in him figuring out a way to influence chakra with shadows, much like the Nara clan. Unlike the Nara clan members, however, he focused on an entirely different twist - using shadows as sort of 'gates' with which to transfer his own body from one point to the other without being detected. In essence, he can walk in shadows, which explains why he's called 'Shadowwalker'.

Needless to say, this ability can be potentially lethal. Its only weakness is the fact that in order for him to step through shadows, he first needs to stretch and/or manipulate his own shadow until it touches the desired target. The process consumes a lot of chakra, although once the contact is made, only a minimal upkeep is needed to maintain the gate active.

And at night, you ask? At night it's even worse, because a single, great shadow blankets all. During nighttime, Shizumaru becomes the most lethal shinobi in any village, bar none - including the Sannin and Kages - because there's no way to predict the moment or direction of his attacks, and his weapon, though hard to use properly, can easily spell instant doom for an opponent, having been specifically designed to either kill or mutilate.

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--Reigetsu: Shisyoku (Moon Phase: Death Eclipse)

Shizumaru's trump card. This jutsu turns his ability to step in shadows into a lethal skill. Essentially, it creates an opaque chakra disk that, depending on how much chakra is used to create it, can be fairly large and hover a good 100 feet off the ground. Anything under this chakra disk will be in a shadow, effectively turning the whole shadowed area in a danger zone where Shizumaru can literally attack from any direction.

This technique requires a MASSIVE chakra upkeep, so it can't be held forever. Generally, when this technique is used, it means Shizumaru is either certain of his victory or going for a kill as opposed to just disabling.

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HATORI HAGIRI

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Hidden Moon Shinobi - "Thunder Lord"

Rank: Genin (although he's actually Chuunin level)

Age: 15

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Normally green, become golden when using his lightning powers

Weapon: Bare hands, steel wire

Seals: 6

Ninjutsu: 7

Taijutsu: 7

Genjutsu: 2

Intelligence: 4

Strength: 6

Speed: 6

Stamina: 7

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_Personal Info_: Shizumaru Hagiri's younger brother and the heir of the Hagiri clan. He's the holder of the Hagiri's Bloodline Limit , 'Raitei', which allows his body to produce electricity naturally like certain animals. Due to this peculiar power, his entire fighting style is based almost completely on his electric attacks. As a result, he'll find himself at a serious disadvantage if the opponent is grounded or can otherwise nullify electricity.

Even without his electricity, he is a master of the steel wire, being able to use it to tangle an opponent in and rip his limbs off. He also has excellent Taijutsu skills, but appears to be rather inept at Genjutsu.

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--Bloodline Limit: Raitei (Thunder Lord)

Hatori's Bloodline Limit. His body's particular configuration allows him to generate massive amounts of electricity whithin himself and release it from anywhere. This Bloodline Limit is the base from which all of his moves generate, so once one can neutralize his electric powers, Hatori becomes extremely vulnerable.

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ARISA HANADA

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Hidden Moon Kunoichi - "Blind Guardian Angel"

Rank: Genin (although she's actually Chuunin level)

Age: 15

Hair: Green

Eyes: Very pale grey (almost white)

Weapon: Modified kodachi (it is about 2 inches longer than usual, and made to be very light and easy to use)

Seals: 3

Ninjutsu: 0

Taijutsu: 7

Genjutsu: 0

Intelligence: 5

Strength: 5

Speed: 9

Stamina: 5

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_Personal Info_: This Hidden Moon genin is a longtime friend of both Shizumaru and Hatori Hagiri, which explains why she was assigned to their team for the Chuunin Exams. Arisa has no talent whatsoever in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, much like Rock Lee of the Leaf. However, like Rock Lee, she is an unmatched genius of the martial arts, specializing in Kenjutsu rather than Taijutsu.

What many fail to notice is that Arisa is blind. That is the entire reason behind her incredibly keen senses of hearing, smell, taste and touch. It is also the reason why she can react faster than anyone else - she doesn't depend on her eyes to react. Due to this, she makes for an extremely talented spy - her enhanced senses make her more aware of her surroundings, and she can easily sneak in unnoticed where other shinobi would fail.

While the most part of her attacks are delivered with a sword, she shows considerable prowess with her hands and feet too, though not as much as Rock Lee. In addition to this, she has incredible accuracy and the ability to spot weaknesses in almost any defense.

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--Koukeishinkei (Steel Flows Through Nerves)

This frightening ability is not properly a jutsu, but rather a state of mind. It is automatically triggered whenever Arisa loses her cool, allowing the killing intent within her to resurface. As a result, her already-considerable offensive abilities are raised to astronomical levels, easily comparable to the opening of the first five Inner Celestial Body Gates.

This ability puts a tremendous strain on Arisa's body, lowering her durability and making her extremely susceptible to any physical damage. However it also allows her to react instantly to any threat and/or technique, to the point of being able to literally stop and redirect her attacks just a split second before striking, as well as dodging and/or neutralizing attacks from seemingly wide-open positions. Due to this, her lower damage tolerance isn't much of an issue, as hitting her is going to be incredibly difficult to begin with.

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SABURO MURAKAMI

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Hidden Moon Shinobi - "Beastmaster"

Rank: Jounin, Team Leader

Age: 31

Hair: Blue

Eyes: Blue

Weapon: None besides the standard ninja equipment

Seals: 5

Ninjutsu: 6

Taijutsu: 6

Genjutsu: 6

Intelligence: 6

Strength: 7

Speed: 7

Stamina: 7

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_Personal Info_: The Beastmaster of the Hidden Moon. Saburo Murakami's strength as a ninja lies not in jutsu, but in his deep connection with the wilderness.

Like all the savage Murakami clan members, Saburo dislikes living in the city. He prefers to live an isolated life in the company of the wild animals of the forest, in no small part because the stench of the city offends his senses. He believes that such artificial things were never meant to be - humans were born from the wilderness, and in the wilderness they should live.

Saburo's main ability is to call up on wild, untamed beasts. Fighting him, or any other Murakami clanman, in a forest is essentially suicide - while his abilities as a jounin are subpar, the animal friends he can call to his aid more than make up for it.

In a city, the Beastmaster is slightly less lethal - only the bravest animals dare enter human towns, but he can still count on birds of prey and rat packs which are generally dangerous enough. Either way, when in a fight against Saburo, numbers will always be on his side.

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MAKI YAMAZAKI

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Hidden Marsh Kunoichi

Rank: Genin

Age: Unknown

Hair: White

Eyes: Burnt Green

Weapon: Own body

Seals: 4

Ninjutsu: 5

Taijutsu: 3

Genjutsu: 1

Intelligence: 3

Strength: 10

Speed: 1

Stamina: 8

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_Personal Info_: This kunoichi's whole body is rotting with disease, a state which gives her a horrifying appearance and a smell that matches it. However, her cursed Bloodline Limit 'Byoujou' allows her to survive her condition, though not without great personal discomfort.

Due to her ghastly looks, Maki's body is always concealed by heavy bandages and a cape, giving her an appearance very similar to that of Kinuta Dosu of the Sound. Despite her appalling looks and horrible health, Maki comes across as a very friendly and caring person, possibly the only Hidden Marsh Genin who gladly talks to strangers. However, she also obeys the Onikage's orders without question, and will immediately strike down any who oppose the Onikage's will, be they friend or foe.

The wounds inflicted by Maki's nails are poisonous and will often fester, and her internal organs do not react to damage like those of a normal human being, making styles like the Gentle Fist almost entirely useless. In addition to this, Maki is extremely strong - we're talking Tsunade-level strong here. However, she's also extremely slow and has a very strong fear of flames, to the point that she'll often start acting erratically, if not outright panic, whenever she's near a big enough fire.

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--Cursed Bloodline Limit: Byoujou (Diseased Fortress)

The Yamazaki clan's cursed Bloodline Limit, corrupted by the demon's curse. This ability allows the user to survive any illness or poisonous substance. However, it also causes the user's body to become infested with diseases, making even standing too close to them extremely hazardous if precautions are not taken. Due to this effect, wounding a Yamazaki clan member can be lethal, as their blood can easily poison and/or infect the attacker to death. Also, wounds inflicted by a Yamazaki clan member's nails will quickly fester if not treated immediately and do not heal easily.

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JUN RANDO

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Hidden Marsh Kunoichi

Rank: Genin

Age: Unknown

Hair: Dirty blond

Eyes: Dark yellow

Weapon: Kodachi

Seals: 4 (2)

Ninjutsu: 4 (0)

Taijutsu: 4 (7)

Genjutsu: 4 (0)

Intelligence: 4 (1)

Strength: 4 (7)

Speed: 4 (7)

Stamina: 5

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_NOTE_: in parenthesis are Jun's stats when berserking.

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_Personal Info_: This Hidden Marsh Genin suffers from a rare disease that forces her to consume others' chakra in order to not waste away, effectively making her a 'chakra vampire'. In addition to this, as her own chakra level falls, she'll become increasingly more violent, until she'll eventually think of nothing but feeding on the chakra of anyone nearby.

This disease also corrupts her chakra flow, and while she does not suffer from any ill effects so long as she feeds regularly, her corrupted chakra can be used to devastating effects during a battle.

The way it works is simple. Whenever she uses her Corrupted Flow technique, she injects a massive amount of her own chakra in the opponent's body. As a result, the two chakra start conflicting, and the opponent's own chakra flow is completely scrambled, which causes any technique requiring chakra to have wild, unpredictable effects ranging from its normal effect to a massive chakra explosion (which usually kills the user), to nothing at all. Thus, the opponent is stuck having to physically fight her off, putting them at a major disadvantage.

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--Heifuu Nagareochiru (Corrupted Flow)

This technique was devised by Jun to take advantage of her corrupted chakra. It essentially infuses her own chakra in the opponent's body, disrupting the opponent's chakra flow with often catastrophic results. However, this technique also uses up a large amount of Jun's chakra, causing her to become unstable due to the berserk effect that she falls into if her chakra starts running too low. Therefore, Jun will generally use this technique early on to avoid losing control over her actions.

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KAGURA MORITSUNA

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Hidden Marsh ANBU

Rank: Technically Genin (actually Jounin level; she simply never took the exams)

Age: Unknown

Hair: Grey

Eyes: Pink

Weapon: Bare hands

Seals: 7

Ninjutsu: 5

Taijutsu: 7

Genjutsu: 7

Intelligence: 8

Strength: 5

Speed: 6

Stamina: 6

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_Personal Info_: This cold, unfriendly ANBU of the Hidden Marsh is an extremely intelligent and calculating fighter. While she's not on Shikamaru Nara's level of genius, she can devise battle tactics on the fly, using the environment to her advantage. This ability to adapt becomes even more potent if the environment is familiar to her (i.e. a marsh or a deep, dark forest with many hiding spots), allowing her to fight at much higher levels than what a genin would normally be capable of.

Her personal skill, 'Shi no Saika', is a warped variation of the Gentle Fist - instead of causing internal damage, her attacks will cause the opponent's body to start rotting from the inside. This ability is extremely lethal, as the effects only become apparent over time, and often ends in a gruesome death for the victim.

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--Shi no Saika (Sanction of Death)

A twisted version of the Gentle Fist. It essentially has the same basic concept, but Kagura's control over her own chakra is so absolute that she can actually cause the internal organs she targeted to literally rot. This technique is probably the most lethal in all the villages, bar none.

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RIN WATANABE

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Hidden Marsh Kunoichi

Rank: Jounin, Team Leader

Age: Unknown

Hair: Black

Eyes: Black

Weapon: Scythe

Seals: 8

Ninjutsu: 6

Taijutsu: 5

Genjutsu: 8

Intelligence: 7

Strength: 5

Speed: 5

Stamina: 5

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_Personal Info_: The Hidden Marsh team leader. Rin appears to know the Onikage at a personal level. She rarely, if ever, talks about herself, and even her pupils know next to nothing about her. Her preferred weapon is a scythe which she uses with great skill despite its size.

Rin specializes in illusions, and her illusions are said to be so potent almost nobody can snap out of them. However, her greatest power is her ability to call upon the souls of the dead with her song. This terrifying ability of hers earned her the nickname 'Shinigami', and she is regarded with respect and fear by everyone in the Hidden Marsh village.

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--Kinjutsu: Shinigami no Uta (Forbidden Technique: Death God's Song)

Rin's exclusive technique. The Watanabe clan has always been able to speak with the departed, but Rin takes it one step further - her song is so powerful, it allows her to call back the very souls of the dead, allowing them to interact with the mortal world.

This jutsu is technically a summoning skill and sucks up a monstrous amount of chakra. On top of that, Rin has to keep singing and weaving her chakra through her song in order for the dead to be able to enter this world and stay in it. However, the dead will usually protect her from harm, and since they can't really be killed or disabled, this defense usually proves adequate.

Just for the record, the song in itself means nothing. It is merely used instead of seals to channel and mold chakra, allowing for the summon to be successful.

Needless to say, this jutsu is a forbidden skill of the highest level, and the fact that not even the Watanabe clan elders managed to master it should be sufficient indication of Rin's actual skill level.

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ONIKAGE

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Hidden Marsh Leader

Rank: Kage

Age: 35 (unconfirmed, probably true)

Hair: Grey

Eyes: Crimson

Weapon: Onimaru (legendary claw weapon, like Oro's Kusanagi - think Vega's claws in SF2)

Seals: 10

Ninjutsu: 9

Taijutsu: 9

Genjutsu: 9

Intelligence: 10

Strength: 9

Speed: 9

Stamina: 9

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_Personal Info_: The Hidden Marsh's great leader, Onikage, is the last member of his clan, which was struck particularly hard by the demon's curse that corrupted so many other clans in the Hidden Marsh. As a result, the Onikage's clan members gained enormous skill and power from their tainted blood. But with power came a price - they all die very young, as the power is an excessive strain over their bodies.

Onikage is by far the longest-lived member of his clan, being 35 years old where his clansmen generally died at 27-30. Essentially, his body is deteriorating rapidly - only his will is keeping him alive right now. The will to carry out the one mission that drove him all his life...

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--Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Arahabaki (Summoning Technique: Arahabaki)

Onikage's exclusive summoning skill. Onikage took advantage of his unnaturally huge chakra reserves to make a pact with the Fiend who governs death, decay, corruption and all that is impure.

Arahabaki is a formidable opponent, since his body regenerates constantly as long as he's in contact with the terrain. In addition to this, his breath is toxic, his bodily fluids corrosive and mere contact with him makes anything rot, including solid stone. Arahabaki is considered to be the protector God of the marsh and knows Enma, the 3rd Hokage's summoned monster.

However, summoning Arahabaki is an immensely draining feat, as the Fiend of Corruption feeds off the chakra of its summoner to remain in this world, like any other summoned fiend. And with Onikage's rapidly deteriorating health, summoning Arahabaki might be the final nail in his coffin...

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AKARI HAGIRI

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Akatsuki

Rank: Missing-nin (Jounin level)

Age: 21

Hair: Blonde with black streaks

Eyes: Silver - at least, the one eye she has left.

Weapon: Unknown

Seals: 6

Ninjutsu: 9

Taijutsu: 6

Genjutsu: 4

Intelligence: 7

Strength: 5

Speed: 7

Stamina: 7

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_Personal Info_: The infamous Missing-nin and S-class criminal of the Hidden Moon, Akari Hagiri, grew up unsatisfied with her power, and eventually became obsessed with being stronger than anyone else.

One day, the now fifteen years old Akari found mention of forbidden Demon summons in an old tome of the Hagiri. Tempted by the power this summon offered, she attempted to perform a demon summoning ritual, but was discovered and punished by removing her left eye.

Her thirst of power now joined by resentment towards the Hidden Moon, Akari trained obsessively, with the secret goal of one day bringing ruin to her village for hindering her path to power. Her progressive increase in insanity and power eventually caught Akatsuki's attention, and when offered to join them, she readily agreed.

In the night, she murdered Yoshihiro Hagiri, the clan leader, and escaped the Hidden Moon, entering Akatsuki's ranks where she immediately developed a strong - and returned - hatred for Orochimaru, whose goals essentially made him a mortal rival in her eyes. Shortly afterwards, Orochimaru left.

Ever since then, no information has been available on Akari. No one knows where she is or what she is doing... or how far into madness she has descended...


	7. Chapter 5: Confrontation

(A/N: Finally, The GH has come back to FFN! ...er, don't mind my pseudo-wrestling rants. I'm just happy I can update at all.

This has been a hectic period for me. I couldn't access a PC for a while, then my personal PC got virused, and finally I hit a dry spell in inspiration. But now I'M BAAACK!

As usual, reviewer answers come first, for those kind souls who actually bothered to read my stuff:

black: Hmm, I'm happy you liked it after all. From this chapter on, you'll notice things will change a bit.

crazyone: Don't worry about Naruto. He'll get some major screen time starting next chapter - specifically, NaruIno interaction.

Ayce Shade: I'm aware my character's stats tend to be high. However, notice that the characters with high stats are all chuunin, technically. Also, Arisa's stats are very similar to Lee's. I took the Chuunin Exam stats, FYI. And Maki is supposed to be chibi-Tsunade.

DarkJackel: Basara herself isn't overly fond of lying to Ino, as she's coming to like the blonde genin. Well, just read… heh.

dfourthhorseman: I have no plans for a fox summoning, but Naruto is going to have an exceptional teacher later on, so don't worry. In fact, most neglected characters will get large screen time, including Hinata.

Mr. Anonimity: Sasuke is supposed to stay lonerish a while longer still, and besides I have particular plans for him.

g-bus: Patience is a virtue. But I accept your critique. Hopefully this chapter will make you happy.

ErikKoekkoek: Yes, Ino's Shintenshin no Jutsu actually will place Basara in control of her body. As you can imagine, this can change the tide of battle in a hurry.

Frank Cadena: The Hidden Moon's interest in going to the Chuunin Exams is simple: to show potential clients how strong their shinobi are. Simply put, they think of the Chuunin Exams as a way to showcase their skill and therefore get more jobs. To this, you must add that an infamous S-Class criminal is being tracked down by them… it'd make sense for them to send a covert team in.

The Hidden Marsh has different reasons. They don't care about the Exams, they're after Naruto.

Dan Inverse: Think of it this way: the Hidden Marsh has been struck by demonic curses. You don't expect cursed ninja to be normal, do you?

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Ahh, done. From this point onward, the fic will take a radically different path from the one in the manga, so be warned. Anyway, enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTE: You'll notice that Basara speaking no longer uses the brackets. This is due to FFN eating them in upload. Blame them, not me. Bah. I'll later edit older chapter to conform them. Sorry again!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to . The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe, however, are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and original characters' personality, as well as proofreading;

TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

Ice Dragon XXI for MORE proofreading ;

Several other people from GameFAQs who contributed opinions (you know who you are! )

And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course!

(_Italics_ indicate thought. **Bolded text** indicates Basara speaking.)

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_**Chapter 5: Confrontation**_

--Wave Country--

"That's some really thick fog," Ino commented sourly. She hated damp weather. It made her sleepy. "Is it always like this around here?"

"Most of the time, yes," was the boatman's reply. Tazuna had illegally slipped them in with the favor of the mist on a small boat, to avoid detection by the enemy, but the wall of fog before them was... unsettling to say the least.

"Anyway, we should be seeing the bridge soon. By following it, we'll reach the Wave Country."

As if on cue, a massive shape started emerging from the fog. It was an incomplete bridge of immense size, and the three Leaf genin found themselves staring at it wide eyed.

"WOW! It's huge!!" Naruto yelled excitedly. Immediately afterwards a moan of pain escaped his lips as Ino clocked him in the head.

"Be quiet, you moron. We're _sneaking_ in here, and alerting the whole Wave Country to our presence isn't recommended."

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. Ino had a point - yelling could spell disaster for them all. Especially if that man Gatoo found them...

Kakashi sighed. The mission had taken a very bad turn, but they couldn't well go back to the Leaf - especially after Tazuna had essentially conned them into protecting him at least until they reached the Wave Country. Still, the jounin felt restless. Gatoo was a very, very powerful man, and crossing him could easily have fatal consequences.

After a little while, they reached the disembark point. As they got off, the boatman told them to be careful, then left in a hurry.

"Well," Tazuna said after a while, "get me home now."

"All right," Kakashi replied, brooding. _If they attack us again,_ he thought, _this time it'll be jounin, not chuunin. I feel sick just thinking about it..._

Meanwhile, Naruto walked alongside Sasuke. At one point, he snuck a glance at him and an idea dawned in his mind.

_This time, I'll be the one looking good. Heheheh..._

Naruto began looking around himself, as if he had seen something. He then quickly drew a shuriken and threw it in a nearby bush. "Over there!" he yelled.

"..."

Everybody wordlessly stared at him. Then Naruto straightened, struck a cool pose and said: "Well, just a mouse..."

Ino sighed. While she could understand Naruto's desire to prove his worth, he was just making himself look stupid now.

"Stop making a racket, you damn kid!" Tazuna exploded right then. Naruto, however, ignored him and looked around again. The others looked at him with a defeated expression.

**Tch!**, Basara suddenly spoke up. Ino tensed - Basara was giving off a wary feeling, and she had noticed Kakashi suddenly tense up as well.

Just then Naruto threw a shuriken in another bush. "So you're over there!"

"I said STOP IT, damn kid!" Tazuna raged, whacking him on the head.

"Ow! What was THAT for?!" Naruto protested.

Both Kakashi and Ino ignored him and headed for the direction Naruto had cast his shuriken in. As they brushed the foliage aside, they revealed...

A small white bunny. A scared small white bunny. With a shuriken mere inches from his head.

Naruto gawked, then started petting and hugging the bunny, apologizing profusely. Tazuna and Sasuke shook their heads. "It was just a bunny..." the old man muttered.

Meanwhile, though, Ino and Kakashi were looking at each other, a wary light in their eyes.

"Is it normal...?" the blonde genin asked. Kakashi shook his head.

"No. Get back there and stay near Tazuna at all times. The other two can take care of themselves."

"Right away, sensei," Ino nodded, and quickly walked back with an apparently carefree attitude.

----

In a tree above them, a figure watched the group.

_Right. It was too strong of an opponent for the Devin Brothers,_ the figure thought. _The Hidden Leaf's infamous Copy Ninja... Kakashi of the Sharingan!_

Then he jumped.

----

**GET DOWN!**

"GET DOWN!"

Ino had almost reached Tazuna when the simultaneous warning by Kakashi and Basara rang in her skull. Her reaction was immediate - she dived for Tazuna and tackled him to the ground. At the same time, Kakashi ducked and Sasuke dived for Naruto, taking him to the safety of ground.

Moments later, a loud _whoosh_ signaled the passage of something huge over their heads. Something huge and very sharp.

The giant blade wedged itself in the trunk of a nearby tree, and its owner landed on its hilt right afterwards. Kakashi and the newcomer found themselves staring at each other.

_I know him,_ the jounin thought, realizing just how much trouble they were in.

Meanwhile, Naruto's mind was racing. _Good, our opponent has finally showed up, _he thought, tensing up. _This time, I won't let Sasuke one-up me..._

Just as he was about to spring forward, however, a hand caught his wrist in a vice-like grip. As he looked at his side, he saw Ino shaking her head. Then Kakashi moved his own hand in front of him.

"Back off," the jounin said. "You'd only get in my way. This one is completely different from those two before."

Ino nodded in response, backing off slowly and dragging Naruto with her. She shot a look at the two boys with her and motioned towards Tazuna.

"Cover the old man and stay out of their way. We're going to have our hands full just protecting him."

Sasuke and Naruto immediately nodded, slightly creeped out by Ino's undecipherable expression. For some reason, she felt like a different person right now...

----

_...okay, now what?_, the blonde genin inquired in her mind. Basara mentally shrugged.

**Now we wait. That creepy individual over there is strong, but Kakashi should be able to handle him just fine.**

_All right..._

**Oh, and if the two kids near you get in trouble, stay back for a while. I'm curious... I detect great potential in them, and I'd like to see how they perform under pressure.**

_Um, I don't..._, Ino began in a hesitant tone, but Basara cut her off.

**Don't worry, if they find themselves in mortal danger, we'll just get their asses out of it. All right?**

_...fine. I'll trust you for the time being. But remember,_ the blonde girl added, her thoughts suddenly laced with steel, _once we have some time available, you're telling me EVERYTHING you're hiding from me._

**...very well. Now, pay attention.**

With a final nod, Ino's attention returned to the battle.

----

_Just what's going on with Ino?_, Sasuke thought to himself, peering at his teammate with the corner of his eye. _She is acting almost as if she's used to giving orders, and I feel no hesitation in her..._

The young Uchiha was confused. Ever since the 'bell training' Kakashi put them through, he had the feeling that the normally cheerful girl's mood had become increasingly worse. In addition to this, Ino often displayed unexplainable increases in physical abilities when her stress reached a breaking point. In fact, during the previous fight with the Devil Brothers, she had move faster than anyone Sasuke had ever observed so far, save for Kakashi-sensei.

The black-haired boy cast another cursory glance at Ino, wondering what was wrong with her. Whatever it was, he decided, was most likely something she had no desire to talk about.

With a sigh, he let his eyes return to the battle between Kakashi and the mysterious ninja. _I just hope we will live long enough to talk about it, _he thought darkly.

----

Naruto's main concern in that moment was keeping his eyes glued to the fight. Kakashi had uncovered his left eye, and there were three odd dots in it. The sensei and the other man, whom Kakashi had identified as 'Zabuza', said something about a 'sharingan' and how Kakashi knew well over 1,000 jutsu. Naruto could hardly believe it. This lazy pervert of a sensei knew that many techniques?

As he watched the events before him unfold, he became aware of a bank of mist building up around them. The sudden rise of the mist looked highly suspicious even to him, and when Zabuza jumped on the water and muttered something about 'Mist Veil', he knew he had been right - it was his doing.

With no more visibility around himself, he backed away cautiously, drawing nearer to Tazuna. Then...

----

"...Kkuu...!!" Ino gurgled, her legs shaking. All of a sudden, a terrifying murderous intent had struck her, filling her with dread. She barely noticed that her teammates were equally shaken, and the only reason why she didn't drop to her knees right away was because immediately after the first wave of dread struck, Basara started radiating what could only be described as unthinking glee.

**Heh heh heh...!**, Ino heard her dark half cackle inside her head. **This is going to be fun. Can you feel this tension, young one? That man is no mere goon. He's a merciless killer... Finally, an opponent worth our time!**

"H... how can you be so happy?" Ino replied in a strangled whisper so low no one heard it. "We are all going to die!"

**Nonsense! That man is about to find out that there's always someone better than him in the world.**

"...that one being... us?", the blonde genin asked. Basara nodded mentally.

**Us, too. Kakashi, as well. Hahaha... I can't wait to see blood flow.**

"...you're scaring me." Ino murmured, shocked by her inner self's words.

**You're being weak, now**, Basara scolded her. **A ninja deals with pain, blood and death on a daily basis. Get used to it or seek another job entirely.**

"I... will try."

**Hn**, Basara mused, her bloodlust leaving room to more rational thoughts. **You're not ready yet, I see. All right, for the time being, let us protect the old man. Now, get ready!**

Those words snapped Ino out of her trance.

Just in time...

----

Zabuza had suddenly appeared behind Sasuke and Ino, ready to lash out. Ino's reaction, however, proved once again adequate - she jumped on the spot and lashed out at Tazuna with her feet, kicking him out of harm's way as well as propelling herself to a safe distance. Meanwhile, Kakashi got up close and personal with Zabuza and managed to jam a kunai in his ribs.

Unfortunately, Zabuza turned out to be a water clone. Another Zabuza popped out behind Kakashi, lashing out at him. Kakashi's body was cleaved in half by Zabuza's sword.

However, the jounin turned out to be a water clone as well. Zabuza stared dumbfounded at the puddle of water before him. _What...? He copied my Mizu Bunshin in the middle of all that fog...?!_

"Don't move. This battle is over."

Zabuza froze as a kunai touched his throat, recognizing the voice behind him. Then, he lowered his head and chuckled.

"Heh... the battle is over, you say? You don't understand..." the Mist nin said. "You'll never beat me by copying me. But I admit you're good. You copied the Mizu Bunshin and used the copy to get my attention while you hid in the mist, observing my movements. But..."

Just then Basara attracted Ino's attention.

_What is it...?, _the genin asked.

**Something's odd. There's something not quite right about him...**

_Eh? He looks like he's real to me, _Ino replied in a puzzled tone.

**Don't ever trust your eyes when Bunshin are involved**, Basara pointed out. **They're perfect replica of the original, except for...**

Basara's voice broke, then she screamed in rage.

**It's a trap! That body has no odor! It's another clone...!**

As Ino's eyes widened, yet another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, and the copy before the jounin melted into water.

"...but I'm not that gullible, Kakashi," the Mist nin concluded triumphantly.

As Kakashi turned around, a wall of water closed around him, trapping him in a water bubble.

"Suirou no Jutsu," Zabuza murmured, a triumphant light in his eyes. Naruto and Sasuke watched in shock as their sensei futilely struggled against his watery prison.

**Tch, things just got a bit tougher to deal with. Oh well… let's get to work, young one**, Basara commented in an unconcerned tone.

_How can you be so calm?!,_ Ino asked her inner voice. _Sensei's in trouble, and that guy is too strong!_

**Nonsense. I'll tell you what to do. Here's the plan… Hm? Wait… Naruto is up to something. See, his aura feels different… he's regained confidence.**

Ino's attention returned to Naruto who, after a brief scuffle with one of Zabuza's clones, had recovered his fallen forehead protector and was now radiating determination.

With a quick movement, Naruto whipped out a giant shuriken and threw it at Ino.

"Ino-chan, I'm counting on you!" he yelled.

Ino looked at the shuriken in her hand, and suddenly realized the idea Naruto had.

**Impressive**, Basara commented. **To think up such a plan in so short a time**.

_That's more like a nasty prank…,_ Ino commented with a smile. _It so fits Naruto…_

**All right, business time!**, the Kitsune spirit grinned inwardly.

With a sharp twist of her wrist, Ino unveiled the four-point shuriken and held it before her. Staring right at Zabuza, she murmured:

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu."

Then, with a swift motion, she hurled the shuriken… aiming directly at Zabuza.

----

The Mist nin smiled. "Nice try," he said nonchalantly, "but it's not enough."

Extending one hand, Zabuza blocked the suriken in mid-flight. His wicked smile, though, froze when he noticed another shuriken, hidden in the first one's shadow.

"Tch…!" he spat as he jumped straight up, narrowly avoiding getting his legs chopped off. As he landed, he smirked again. Then, he noticed Sasuke and Ino smiling, and a lout 'poof' came from behind him.

Turning around, he saw Naruto behind him, who had been posing as the second shuriken, throwing a kunai at his head.

As the kunai rapidly approached his head, Zabuza's eyes widened. At the very last instant, he sapped back, letting go of the water bubble Kakashi was trapped in, and barely avoided the blade, which scratched his cheek.

Eyes filled with rage, he turned around to attack the impudent genin who made a fool out of him…

_C R A C K_

…and his neck was forced to move in a way it wasn't supposed to by a foot solidly planted on his cheek. Snapping his head back, he turned around again, finding himself face to face with the blonde kunoichi who had participated in the joint attack.

_What the…,_ Zabuza thought, shocked. _How can she be so fast?_

Then the Mist nin noticed a detail that creeped him out even more. The girl's eyes were yellow and red.

"What…? You're not…"

Zabuza's phrase was unceremoniously interrupted by another kick barely missing his head. With a backflip he put himself at a safe distance. A second look at his opponent's eyes revealed they were blue again. _What was that…?,_ he thought.

**Less talking, more fighting**, the young girl said in an oddly distorted voice. Then she smirked in contempt. **Or would you rather just give up?**

----

Ino could hardly believe what she was saying. Moments before, she had felt a rush of power unlike any other fill her, and had reacted on instinct upon seeing Zabuza distracted, moving faster than she ever had and blindsiding him.

And now… now she felt more confident than ever before. Was this the effect Basara had on her?

…_is that what you meant, Basara, when you said we could take him?,_ she asked her inner voice. An approving feeling returned from within.

**Indeed. This one, we can take. Even alone… our teammates are extra help.**

_You will tell me, won't you? Why you can give me such power… and everything?_

**I promised, young one. And I keep my promises.**

_Good… hn? Someone in the trees!_

As soon as Ino had noticed the sudden movements, a series of needles struck Zabuza squarely in the neck. The Mist nin's eyes bulged out, and he staggered for a second before dropping to the floor with a thud, lifeless.

"I apologize for startling you," a voice said.

Everybody's eyes darted to the tree branch from which the voice and the needles had come. There, standing nonchalantly, was a masked ninja bearing the Mist's symbol on his mask. His long black hair and lithe frame made it hard to understand his sex, but his voice was decidedly male.

"A hunter-nin?" Kakashi murmured. The newcomer nodded, jumping down.

"Indeed. I had been tracking this traitor for a while now. And thanks to you, I finally caught him. You have my gratitude."

"Hmm…" Kakashi said before dropping to one knee. Sasuke and Naruto were instantly to his side.

"What's wrong, Sensei?" Naruto asked him. The masked Jounin shook his head.

"Nothing, just… using the Sharingan drains me. I'm a bit weak, that's all…"

"You look like you can barely move, Sensei," Sasuke interjected. "The Sharingan does more than just 'drain you', does it not?"

"…true. I need rest… it'll take a few days to recover."

"Well then," the Mist hunter interjected. "It appears you have your own business to take care of, so I'll leave now…"

With those words, he picked up Zabuza's body. A whirlwind picked up, submerging him in leaves, and then he was gone.

"…that was something," Naruto commented.

"…" Ino merely stared at the spot the two Mist nin had disappeared from. The rush of power had disappeared, but now she was curious - and a little afraid.

What _was_ it that Basara had been keeping from her?

"Hey, Ino-chan! We're going! Come on!"

Naruto's voice snapped her out of her reverie. Basara ad remained silent, so she guessed the explanation would come later. Turning around, she waved and smiled at Naruto. "Coming!"

Deep within, Basara thought about the day's events. She, herself, was afraid of the coming confrontation.

**Don't reject me, Ino. It is all I ask of you**, she murmured to herself. **I have nowhere to go…**

She paused again, then added:

**…and I have grown so very fond of you…**

--Hidden Marsh Village--

Maki Yamazaki, Jun Rando, Kagura Moritsuna and their sensei, Rin Watanabe, waited in front of the Onikage's residence. They had been called urgently, regarding a mission they were to be assigned to.

"I wonder what Onikage-sama wishes us to do?" Jun said to no one in particular. Maki just stared straight ahead. Jun guessed that her friend felt worse than usual today, as she had looked like she was getting winded faster during training.

"We'll find out now, it seems," Kagura stated casually as the house's doors opened. As the Onikage stepped out, the three girls gave him curious glances - it was actually the first time they got to see him in the daylight.

The Hidden Marsh's Kage was a tall, thin man, who looked like he had aged before his time. Long, green hair framed a strangely emaciated face, and while he looked sickly, one could tell he was probably in his thirties. He wore a grey and dark blue ninja uniform, but appeared to not have any weapons. His crimson eyes almost glowed in the sun as he watched the four women standing before him.

"I will be brief, my trusted kunoichi," he rasped, looking tired. "Word has come to me by my scouts in the Konoha area that Uzumaki-sama has left on a mission for the Wave Country. Moreover, he appears to have run into trouble. I wish for you to track him down and observe. If it is absolutely needed, offer assistance. Otherwise, remain unseen.

"That is all. Depart at once."

That said, the Onikage turned around and slowly walked back in his house, leaving three socked girls and a mildly worried sensei behind.

"Wave Country? That's the first I'll see of the outside world… I can't wait." Jun said, feeling good.

"…We're not sightseeing, Jun," Maki breathed out, her face set in stone under her bandages. "Don't forget that."

"Yeah, yeah… spoilsport."

"Sensei… is this all right?" Kagura asked the brooding figure with a scythe beside her. Rin shrugged.

"I'm not happy with it, but what Onikage-sama says is what must be done. Let us go."

And turning around, the quartet departed on a travel that would change their lives forever.

----------------

(A/N: All right, done! Once again, I apologize for keeping you waiting so LONG. I'm not worthy… forgive me!

Anyway… hope you liked it. As you can tell, things are changing… As usual, R&R! Criticism welcome! Ad hopefully, the format won't be eaten by FFN again.

GH out. Happy new year!)


	8. Chapter 6: Truth and Revelations

(A/N: And a new chapter comes! Happy? Don't care? I was STILL too slow? Ehh… I do what I can.

As usual, review feedback cometh first:

panuru4u: Yeah, Basara's presence does change things, especially once you find out what the deal with her and Ino is in this chapter. Anyway, enjoy. And don't guess what happens next… even if you guess right I won't tell, hehehe.

RurouniGochan: You are quite correct in assuming Kakashi will recover before, but… well, just read.

Dan Inverse: The Hidden Marsh-nin will have a… peculiar interest in both, true. However, their focus is Naruto. You'll eventually realize what they EXACTLY are up to.

To everyone else: Thanks for the feedback!

----

OK, with this out of the way… here it comes, the confrontation Ino has been waiting for and Basara has been dreading. Read and see just how much things have changed for our blond-haired kunoichi! For those of you who still haven't noticed, this fic is mainly Ino-centric, though the next chapters will contain interaction between her and Sasuke/Naruto. I hope this chapter will be enjoyable…)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe, however, are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

--Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality, as well as proofreading;

--TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

--TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

--The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

--Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

--Ice Dragon XXI for EVEN MORE proofreading;

--Several other people from GameFAQs who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

--And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ indicate thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino.)

----------------

_**Chapter 6: Truth and Revelations**_

Dinner at Tazuna's house was rather eventful. After a brief skirmish between Tazuna's grandson Inari and Naruto, the group found out exactly why Gatoo was after Tazuna and, more importantly, why Inari was so bitter and cynic. The discussion died down a bit afterwards, and Ino took advantage of the gloomy atmosphere to excuse herself and go to her room.

As she closed the door, she took a deep breath and mentally steeled herself for what she was more and more convinced would be a very important event in her life. Basara hadn't spoken to her at all the whole evening, but she felt her at the edge of her consciousness, patiently waiting for Ino to address her.

Ino also, quite unexpectedly, detected a strong anxiety coming from Basara. She was reasonably sure it was due to what she was about to learn from her companion, and this worried her, as Basara had never displayed anxiety before.

After tightly locking the door and the window, Ino slowly walked to the bed and sat down. She took another deep breath, then decided it was time to get it over with.

_Basara, are you there?_, she called quietly in her mind._ It is time for us to speak._

Ino felt Basara stir almost immediately. There was still anxiety coming from her, but it was greatly dampened now.

**I am here as always, young one**, the kitsune replied.** As promised, I will tell you what you want to know. Ask what you will. I swear upon my existence that I shall answer truthfully.**

Ino noticed Basara's strange choice of wording almost immediately, but decided to wait and hear what her strange friend-in-her-mind had to say first.

_I'd have you simply tell me your story, from the beginning_, she replied. A sigh came from within.

**Very well, I shall tell you, but do not interrupt me until I am done**, Basara agreed, and then began narrating.

**It all began with a boy named Naruto Uzumaki and a scroll of forbidden jutsu…**

----

A couple hours passed as Ino listened to Basara's story with a faraway look on her face. She had a hard time accepting what Basara was saying at first, but the sincerity in the kitsune's words - for now she knew what Basara was - convinced her that what she was being told was completely true.

…**and that is the story of Basara**, the kitsune concluded.** Know that I could have lied to you, but I have grown fond of you, Ino Yamanaka, and chose to show you my respect and trust by being completely sincere. I also apologize for deceiving you. I meant no harm in that, and I hope you will forgive me.**

Ino blinked at those words. Again, there was passion in them, and she once again knew that Basara had been completely sincere. While part of her was terrified at the idea of having what amounted to a demon within her body, a greater part realized that unlike Naruto, she had the luck of being possessed by one who had no desire to randomly kill, destroy or even forcibly take over her body.

_Naruto…_, she thought, remembering what Basara had told her about the blonde boy's curse._ Being the Kyuubi's host must be a terrifying thing, indeed. Is that why the villagers despise him so much?_

**I believe so**, Basara nodded.** I think he has become aware of the Kyuubi within him lately, though I know not how. But I am fairly certain that the older Leaf denizens hate and fear him because they remember what the Kyuubi did years ago. And the younger ones probably just see their parents act that way and automatically do the same…**

"…this is not right," Ino muttered, unconsciously speaking out loud.

**I suggest you be quiet and think**, Basara advised her.** You never know when someone is going to eavesdrop, as rude as that may be.**

_Uh, right_, Ino quickly corrected herself. She then grew silent, thinking. Basara let her be - she understood the girl was about to make an important decision.

Finally, Ino looked up at nothing in particular.

_Those feelings of exhilaration and bloodlust… they're not all yours, are they?_, she asked the kitsune. The question surprised Basara a bit.

**Truthfully? No**, she replied.** You are a lot more tame than me, but deep down, you too wish to test yourself thoroughly against stronger and stronger opponents. Just… normally, that part of you is drowned out by the conscious part. Since I became part of you, you just have been paying attention to that part more.**

_I thought as much…_, Ino nodded.

**There is one more thing you need to know, Ino**, Basara spoke up again. Ino's attention was drawn immediately.

**When I first possessed you, I noticed our spirits were synchronized**, the kitsune said slowly, choosing her words carefully.** However, I was very weak, and due to that distraction, I failed to notice that our souls didn't merely synchronize… they resonated.**

_And that means…?_, Ino urged her to go on, having a strange feeling of already knowing the answer.

**It means… that our souls started merging from that day onward**, Basara explained with a sigh.** It is a very slow process, and it has just begun… but as time goes on, my soul and yours shall slowly become one. My chakra reserves will merge with yours, multiplying them, and your very body will change to adapt to the power…**

Ino was silent, waiting for Basara to finish.

**Eventually, you and I will become one, and we will be a single entity… neither Ino nor Basara, but both at the same time.**

…_I see_, Ino said after a few moments of silence. So… we will cease to exist?

**If the process is left as is, yes. At least, we will cease to exist as we are now**, Basara confirmed.

…_Is there no way to prevent it?_, Ino asked, disturbed by the news. While it was better than death, it still unsettled her.

**There… are two, actually**, Basara answered in an uneasy tone. Ino said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

**The first is to find a way to forcibly remove me from your body, severing the contact with your soul…**

_Wouldn't that kill you?_, Ino suddenly asked. Basara blinked mentally.

**Well… yes…**

_Out of the question, then. Next_, Ino replied flatly in a dismissing tone. To say the kitsune was caught completely by surprise would've been a sore understatement.

**I beg your pardon?**, she asked, not sure she had heard the kunoichi correctly.

_Look, I don't care if you're a demon_, Ino replied in an irritated tone._ You helped me, and you did me no harm, and you've been a truer friend than pretty much anyone I can think of right now. I DON'T consider killing my friends for my own good an option. Case closed._

With those words, Ino snorted and turned towards the window, slightly blushing at her own words. Basara remained silent for a while after that. Then, in a low tone, she asked Ino:

**Do you truly consider me your friend?**

_Of course I do!_, Ino replied, trying to hide her embarrassment.

…**Thank you. That means a lot for me**, was all Basara managed to say, commotion in her voice.

…_Yeah, yeah… could you please illustrate option number two?_, Ino mumbled, trying to change the subject. Regaining her composure, Basara nodded.

**The second option is simple, but it may cause you, ah… a problem similar to Sakura's**, the kitsune explained. Ino raised an eyebrow.

_You mean a case of multiple personality?_

**In short, yes**, Basara nodded.** What I'd be doing, in essence, is let my spirit be absorbed by yours, and at the same time weave my personality in your spirit, making it separate from the main one. I wouldn't be independent from you, but I would still be there and have an awareness of my own, due to my not being human. Meanwhile, your body would react as if we had merged, and my power would become yours… which I'm fine with, really.**

_I see… yes, that's acceptable. We will do that_, Ino nodded, then something came over her.

_Hey, tell me… what would happen if I used my Shintenshin no Jutsu while you're in my body?_

**Ahh, yes, I've been meaning to tell you about that**, Basara nodded, quite happy at how the 'confession' had turned out.** Essentially, the Shintenshin overrides your opponent's personality with your own. So… if you use it, regardless of whether I am as now or as I will be once we are fully one, my personality will take over your now vacant body.**

Ino grinned at that. Her jutsu had always had one major weakness - she was left without defences when she used it - but now, the possibilities were endless!

_Basara, I believe we won't regret the deal we made today_, Ino cheerfully informed her._ Together, we will change the world!_

----

The day after, Ino went downstairs to find a rather grim Kakashi, and her two teammates equally grim. Immediately, she guessed something was wrong.

"…bad news, right?" she asked at no one in particular. Kakashi nodded.

"Zabuza is most likely still alive," the silver haired jounin replied. Ino blinked.

"How… did he survive, you know… several sharp pieces of wood through the neck?" she asked, a bit shocked.

"That young man with him, he was not a hunter-nin," Kakashi replied. "Hunter-nins always dispose of the bodies on the spot, they don't take them away. Also… if one has extensive medical knowledge, causing a deathlike state is not hard at all."

"And on top of that," Sasuke added, "that Mist shinobi showed up at a very convenient moment. Zabuza would've been killed, had he not interfered. So… yeah, he's most likely still alive."

"I still find it hard to believe, Sasuke," Naruto muttered. "I know I'd be dead if I got skewered that way."

"Actually… now that I think about it, I believe Kakashi-sensei is right," Ino murmured. "But, sensei… you were weak from using the… Sharingan, was it not? You won't be able to fight…"

"No worries," Kakashi reassured her. "Thanks to you, I didn't use it very long. I should recover in a couple of days. But Zabuza should be out for a week or so… If I can just find him before that…"

"No."

Kakashi looked at Ino in surprise. "What…?"

"Sensei, I'd like to let Zabuza fully recover," Ino said in a slow but firm voice. Kakashi eyed her carefully.

"…you want to fight him, don't you?" he said in a tone that implied it wasn't a question at all. Ino nodded. Kakashi looked at her for a long time, then sighed.

"Ino, you feel… different, lately. Almost as if you've grown in power and confidence over the brief time we were a team," the jounin murmured, his visible eye staring at the kunoichi intently. "If I refuse, you'll just bash me until I'm forced to wait a week, won't you?"

Ino simply nodded. Kakashi rolled his eye, but he could see the blonde girl was serious… and after seeing her fight, he wasn't entirely sure hers were just empty words.

"Very well… I'll wait, as you wish. But unless you want to have your teammates' death on your conscience, you'll have to help them train. At their current level, they'd be a light snack for Zabuza, and I suspect that shinobi with him is very strong too. So…" and his gaze shifted to Sasuke and Naruto, "for the next week, I want you to train like your lives depended on it. Because they do. Understood?"

"Hai, sensei," was the unanimous response from his three pupils. Kakashi glared at them, and after a few brief moments nodded, satisfied.

"Very well, then. Follow me. We begin right now!"

----

The four Leaf ninja left Tazuna's house and walked to the nearby forest. They walked a bit into it until they got to a clearing surrounded by trees, at which point Kakashi motioned for them to stop.

"This will do. Now…" he said, looking at his pupils. "As your first exercise, I want you to climb trees."

Everyone stared at him in confusion.

"You heard me. I want you to choose a tree each and climb it," the jounin confirmed. "Oh, and as an extra stipulation… you can only use your feet to climb it."

At this, Naruto started protesting, while Sasuke snorted. Ino's attention, however, was drawn by Basara.

**This exercise is useless to you**, the kitsune scoffed.** It is meant to increase one's control over chakra, but yours is already good enough. What you need to work on is your endurance, and possibly your battle skills.**

_I know, but… I promised sensei I'd help_, Ino objected.

**Then show the boys how it's done by doing it yourself**, Basara dismissed the objection.** That way, you'll both keep your promise and get the point across.**

Ino nodded in agreement, then walked near a relatively tall tree. Concentrating, she sent her chakra to her feet and molded it over her soles. Then, using it to 'stick' to the trunk, she began to calmly climb the tree under her teammates' surprised gazes.

Upon reaching the tallest branch she deemed capable of supporting her weight, she walked under it and stood there, hanging with her head down.

"Like this, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, looking at the jounin. He nodded approvingly.

"Precisely, Ino. Thank you for the demonstration," he replied, then looked at Sasuke and Naruto again. "Well, the lady showed you how, so… get to it, boys. I'll be resting under a tree somewhere. Call me when, and if, you get at least as high up as Ino did."

That said, the jounin turned around and left the clearing, leaving his male students on their own.

After Kakashi departed, Sasuke and Naruto each chose a tree and began to try climbing it. Meanwhile, Ino got off her own tree and sat under it, watching their efforts.

_That wasn't very fair of Kakashi-sensei_, Ino thought._ This exercise can be fairly tricky… should I help them?_

**Not directly**, Basara advised her.** Just drop a hint, and make it obvious enough that Naruto can figure it out. Leave Sasuke on his own - he's too proud to accept help from a woman, or anyone at all, if you ask me. Besides, he's supposedly a genius. He'll be fine.**

Ino nodded in approval and motioned for Naruto to approach. The blonde boy did so immediately.

"Yes, Ino-chan?" he asked with a big smile. Ino winked at him.

"Just a tip, Naruto-kun," she replied. "Think of your chakra as a boot's sole… a sticky sole. I can say no more, but I'm sure you'll be fine. I have faith in you."

Naruto mulled over her words for a bit, then grinned broadly.

"Thanks, Ino-chan! I wont disappoint you!" he said, rushing back to his tree.

'**Naruto-kun', huh?**, Basara playfully ribbed her host. Ino blushed.

_Don't get ideas, now!_, she hastily replied._ I just figured I should be more kind to him, is all!_

**Right**, Basara snickered.** Let's watch a bit, then we go off to talk to Kakashi.**

Ino and Basara spent the next few minutes watching the two boys climb farther and farther up their trees. Then, after a while, Sasuke approached Naruto and the two started talking. Eventually, Naruto grinned and made a snide remark, at which the raven-haired genin glared at him and went back to his tree.

**Heh**, Basara chuckled.** Seems like doing worse than Naruto is more humiliating to Sasuke's pride than asking for help…**

Ino couldn't help but giggle herself. Then, she got up and dusted herself.

_All right, let's get to work_, she thought._ First, we find Kakashi…_

----

Ino walked for a bit in the direction she had seen Kakashi take, looking for signs of the jounin's passage. Luckily, Kakashi wasn't in top form, so spotting the signs of his presence was relatively easy.

Eventually, Ino found him meditating under a very large tree. The jounin did not move or open his eyes, but registered her presence anyway.

"What is it, Ino?" he asked somberly, eye still closed. "Do you need to ask me something?"

"I wish to train by myself, sensei," Ino replied. "Working on my control is of no use… what I truly need is to work on endurance. I wish to do so at my own pace until the boys are done with their training, if you don't mind."

Kakashi's eye opened and he stared at her intently for several long moments. Ino waited patiently.

"All right," the jounin finally nodded. "I give you permission to train by yourself. But don't wander too far, and come back to Tazuna's by nightfall. All right?"

"Understood, sensei," Ino nodded, bowing to the jounin. Then she turned around and walked away, leaving him to his meditation.

As she was about to disappear from his sight, Kakashi called out to her again.

"Ino, when all of this is over, we need to talk," he said quietly, but loud enough for her to hear. "As your sensei, I have a right to know what it is you're hiding from me… especially since it looks like it could be potentially dangerous. Understood?"

"Yes, sensei," Ino said, waving without turning. She soon disappeared from sight entirely, leaving a troubled man to ponder what her secret might be.

----

After walking for several minutes, Ino came across a quiet glade. She stopped, surveying the surroundings, then nodded in satisfaction.

_This will do_, she thought._ Now… what do I do first, Basara?_

**First of all**, the kitsune replied,** I want you to train and practice your basic jutsu until you exhaust our own chakra. Picture an opponent in your mind, then react to his attacks as fast as you can. Try to be constantly moving. Once you use your chakra up, we'll move on to the next phase.**

_Um, Basara?_, Ino objected._ If use all my chakra up, won't I pass out, or worse, die of exertion? …oh, wait. There's yours too…_

**Precisely**, Basara confirmed.** In order for you to start working with my own chakra and increase your overall limit, you need to first use up your entire natural reserve. Don't worry, you won't die. Now, get to it.**

For the next two hours, Ino trained relentlessly, ducking, attacking, blocking and evading the attacks of an imaginary foe and making large use of her basic jutsu. From time to time, Basara gave her advice to improve her tactics.

Eventually, Ino found herself lying on the ground, panting and completely spent.

_Can't… move… anymore…_, she croaked, barely able to think straight. Her body felt like it had turned into lead, and her vision was hazy.

**Just two hours? Oh well**, Basara commended, sounding slightly disappointed.** You'll get better endurance-wise, too. Now…**

Ino suddenly felt a huge rush of energy fill her, lifting the fatigue from her body and rejuvenating her. Her eyes widened, and she slowly pulled herself up to a sitting position, blinking at the view around her. Everything had an odd gold hue, and the other colours looked more vibrant than before.

_What…?_, she asked in confusion. Basara chuckled.

**Take a look in that pool of water over there**, she told her. Ino crawled to it and looked at her reflection.

And gasped.

Staring at her was the face she had seen in her mirror every morning of her life. Except for one detail.

Her eyes were yellow and red.

**This is, shall we say… a 'side effect' of my chakra**, Basara explained.** It isn't just cosmetic either. As you noticed, your sight is sharper than before.**

_It is… a bit disturbing_, Ino murmured, staring at her own eyes.

**Zabuza was more than 'disturbed' by it**, the kitsune chortled.** It may be an asset to you in battle. Most opponents will hesitate upon looking at our eyes.**

_I… see_, the blonde kunoichi replied._ I suppose I'll have to get used to it._

**That's the spirit!**, Basara approved.** Now let us go on to the next step…**

Ino nodded, dismissing the news. Her eyes, she figured, were just something she'd have to get used to. For now, more important business demanded her attention.

Like becoming the greatest kunoichi to ever live…

----------------

(A/N: Chapter 6 DONE! And a cliffhanger, too. What technique is Basara going to teach Ino? You'll just have to wait for Chapter 7, heh heh heh.

As always, R&R! Constructive criticism is welcome. GH out!)


	9. Chapter 7: Fated Departures

(A/N: Yet another new chapter for your enjoyment... I hope. As usual, review feedback cometh first:

donna8157: Glad you liked my chapters. I hope this one's good too.

Dan Inverse: Ino does get a decent power up, but she's nowhere near Basara's level, of course... but you'll soon see what she can do. XD

EfrainMan: Glad to see you like my idea for Ino. Hope you like this chapter too!

DracoTelitha: Patience. Ino doesn't have any definite feelings for Naruto, she just thinks he's cute and is warming up to him. As for Sasuke-Ino interaction, there WILL be some. Quite a bit, in fact. Oh, and for your info, while this IS supposed to be an Ino/Naruto, the pairing won't QUITE work the way some might expect. Just a fair warning... :-p

billy13579: During the Zabuza confrontation, the Kyuubi WILL pop up, and you'll get all the answers you want. So be patient...

xxxx

OK, with this out of the way… prepare for an unexpected scenario change. In this chapter, we'll follow the Marsh kunoichi setting out for Konoha, and we'll observe their fighting capabilities firsthand. I hope you'll enjoy the read, and I also hope you'll come to know and understand these four ladies and their quirks, personalities and thoughts. Read on!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe, however, are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

x Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality, as well as proofreading;

x TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

x TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

x The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

x Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

x Ice Dragon XXI for EVEN MORE proofreading;

x Several other people from GameFAQs who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

x And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ indicate thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino.)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Chapter 7: Fated Departures**_

xx Hidden Marsh xx

While Konoha's Team 7 confronted Zabuza, another team prepared itself to depart, on a mission to reach them. Less than one hour after the Onikage had given his order, Kagura, Jun and Maki stood at the village's gate, waiting for their sensei so they could leave for the Wave Country.

Meanwhile, in the Onikage's office...

xxxx

"You called for me, Onikage-sama?" Rin Watanabe asked, standing before the emaciated lord of the Marsh in the dimly-lit room. The Onikage sighed, closing his eyes, and got up from his seat.

"Stop calling me that, little sister," he murmured, moving to embrace her. "You know you don't need to be formal when we are alone. After all, you _are_ my beloved little sister."

"...impossible. That would be rude," Rin answered, stiffening. The Onikage sighed and let her go, taking one step back.

"...you _still_ consider yourself unworthy of the Sanada clan's name, don't you?"

Rin looked down. "I am not of the blood... how can you consider me one of your own, my lord?"

"I see... but, if only just this time, I want you to set your self-loathing aside and listen to me," the Onikage said in a tone that left no space to replies.

"As you already know," the thin Marsh shinobi continued, "I am not long for this world. Ideally, I will be replaced by Uzumaki-sama. But realistically, he will still not be ready, given his young age. That is why... I have arranged for you to succeed me as the Onikage, until such a time comes when Uzumaki-sama can take his role."

Rin stiffened even more. "You _what?_" she croaked. "My lord, I am unworthy..."

"_I trust you._ That is all that matters," the Onikage flatly stated, glaring at the woman before him. Then his gaze softened. "Rin, I know you never lived down your inability to protect your family twelve years ago. But I don't care what you think of yourself. I may not have another chance to speak to you, and I want you to know this: I feel closer to you than to anyone else in my clan, and I want you to know that should you ever accept to take my clan's last name and keep it alive after I am gone, there is no doubt at all in my mind you'll uphold its honour without fail."

"Ah..." Rin murmured, at a loss for words. While she had been aware that the Onikage had a soft spot for her, she understood only now just how absolute her adopted brother's faith in her was. For the first time in a long, long time, she felt the weight on her shoulders lift. _Perhaps_, she thought, _it is time I let go of the past... I have a chance now, to atone for my failure... I shall not fail again!_

"Very well then... brother Kouryu," she said, straightening her back and looking at him in the eyes. "What do you wish me to do after we make contact with Uzumaki-sama?"

The Onikage smiled. It was the first time Rin called him 'brother' or by his given name. He felt that finally he had broken through the woman's thick shell of self-loathing. Hopefully, she'd take it upon herself to fully break that shell's remains.

"After you catch up with Uzumaki-sama, I want you to proceed to the Leaf for the Chuunin Exams. Take these papers, they should gain you safe passage," the Onikage said, reaching for his table. He snatched a couple of letters lying on top of it and handed them to her. "If my body holds until then, I will come to the Leaf myself for the finals, so I can meet both Uzumaki-sama and the Hokage," he concluded. "Hopefully, I shall see you then. Go now, my beloved sister, and remember... no matter what happens, I, Kouryu Sanada, Onikage of the Marsh, will always be your big brother... until my death, and beyond."

Rin's eyes shot up from the documents at those words. "Brother...?" she whispered, wide eyed. Did he mean...?

The Onikage merely smiled and held a finger to her lips. "Do not concern yourself with this... it is something I want to do. Go now, and may the Kami protect you and your young pupils on your journey."

xxxx

At the gate, the three young kunoichi were becoming restless. Or rather, two of them were restless, while Kagura maintained her air of serene grace, patiently waiting for her sensei to show up. She was used to Maki and Jun's irritable personality, and paid it no heed.

Right now, their restlessness was due to their sensei being late. It was unusual for Rin Watanabe to not be on time, and that concerned them. Kagura, on the other hand, knew that her sensei had been called by the Onikage a short time before, and understood that Rin needed some time by herself before facing her pupils.

"Rin-sensei! You're late!"

Jun's loud yell caused Kagura to look up from where she stood. She raised an eyebrow. _Is sensei... skipping?_, she thought, watching the normally brooding Jounin walk towards them while humming a tune. Kagura quickly scanned her aura for signs of possession by one of the many spirits she knew hovered about her sensei, but found none. _What did Onikage-sama tell her, to put her in such a good mood?_

"Forgive me for being late, Jun," Rin said, coming to a stop before her. "I had a rather important chat with Onikage-sama, and I was given further orders."

"...you are in a good mood, sensei," Maki observed in a low voice. "I have no idea what Onikage-sama said, but if it made you happy, I am grateful to him."

Rin glanced at the tall kunoichi, whose massive cloaked frame towered over her teammates as well as the two guards nearby. Maki gave the impression of not being too bright, but that was far from true - she had a very sharp mind, and often noticed things others did not. Then again, Kagura had the same talent.

"I am sure Onikage-sama appreciates your feelings, Maki," Rin nodded at her. "Now, here's what we are going to do. Listen carefully..."

Rin quickly explained what the Onikage wished them to do. Upon learning they were to directly go to Konoha, Jun's mood brightened.

"I can't wait to see another village," she said. "I wonder how different life outside the marsh is?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Maki shrugged in response. "Hopefully not the wrong way."

"Eh, you worry too much," Jun chided her friend. "I'm sure everything will go well."

Maki snorted. Behind her, Kagura observed, "Last time you said _that_, we ran into three marsh alligators and had to run away to avoid being eaten."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," Jun replied defensively. "How was I to know those floating logs were actually animals?"

"...you're supposed to _know_ the difference, Jun" Maki pointed out with a slightly exasperated expression. "What kind of kunoichi mistakes _alligators_ for _logs_?"

"Gimme a break," Jun moaned unhappily. "Everybody makes mistakes every now and then."

Maki rolled her eyes in a mock-tragic fashion, but chuckled under her breath. It was true that Jun was often laid back in training, but in actual battle, she'd trust no one else with her life. Both were aware of that, and both knew Maki wasn't really serious in her criticizing of her.

"All right, you two," Rin interrupted them, amused by the scene. "Enough messing around. We've lost enough time already, so let us depart. With any luck, we should reach Kudan Village by tomorrow at nightfall."

"Hai, sensei," the three kunoichi answered simultaneously.

As they were leaving, though, one of the gate guards stopped them. Rin looked at him questioningly, and the guard bowed in apology.

"Forgive me, Watanabe-san, but I overheard you," the guard said rapidly, fearing that she would not take kindly to the interruption. "If you plan to stop at Kudan Village, be careful. Our scouts reported that a large band of low-level missing-nins have been raiding the area repeatedly, and even killed the locals. You may want to keep your eyes open for them."

"Hm..." Rin nodded, thoughtful. After a brief period, she looked at the guard and nodded with a slight smile. "Thank you for warning us. We will look out for this possible obstacle."

"You're welcome, Watanabe-san," the guard nodded, relieved that the scythe-wielding Jounin was not angry. He hastily returned to his post, and Rin turned to face her pupils.

"Well... we will have to be careful," she said nonchalantly. "But if push comes to shove, I take it you can handle yourselves, right?"

"Of course!"

"Indeed."

"Hmph..."

Jun, Kagura and Maki replied to her in rapid succession, without the slightest hint of worry in their voices. Rin nodded at them, satisfied. Then, the four kunoichi darted away, and in a few moments they disappeared in the marsh's mists.

xxxx

The next evening found the three Kunoichi mere minutes away from Kudan Village, scouting the area from atop some trees.

"What do you think, Kagura?" Maki murmured to her nearby companion, scanning the village's walls from afar. The Marsh ANBU shook her head, frowning.

"I do not like this. There's an eerie atmosphere around here, and the village walls show signs of a recent attack," she replied. "I recommend exercising caution when approaching. I would rather not enter the village at all, but we must restock on supplies before proceeding towards the Wave Country."

"Yeah... Well, let us reunite with Jun and Rin-sensei," Maki nodded. Then she suddenly winced. The shift in her teammate's expression did not escape Kagura, who gave her friend a concerned look.

"Maki... do you feel ill?" the ANBU asked. The bandaged girl shook her head reassuringly.

"...just my lungs acting up. I'll be fine..." she breathed out in an almost inaudible whisper. Kagura grimaced.

"If you do not feel up to it, tell sensei. I am sure she will understand," she suggested. Maki gave a 'hn' as response, then moved off her branch.

The tall kunoichi slid down the trees in complete silence, despite her massive frame. Her grey-haired companion moved equally soundlessly, and within moments they both reached the ground. As soon as they landed, Jun and Rin showed up from the undergrowth.

"Do you have anything to report?" the older woman asked the two kunoichi. Kagura shook her head.

"As I said before... something is off. There is no one on the village's walls, and several wall sections are broken or burned," Kagura said. "I am fairly sure those missing-nin attacked Kudan no more than two days ago, but I find the lack of security odd... perhaps they killed everyone?"

Rin's features clouded. "If they did that," she murmured, "we'll have no choice but to hunt them down and kill them. They are entirely too close to the Marsh for my comfort, and their ilk is not welcome among us."

"Well, we might as well enter the village first," Jun pointed out. "We won't know what they did 'til we see it with our eyes, no?"

"You have a point," Rin nodded. "But keep your guard up. Let's move out!"

xxxx

The sight that greeted the four kunoichi when they entered Kudan was terrible. The village's houses, up close, showed clear signs of having been attacked. Bloodstains were visible on the walls and roads. Windows were broken and carriages overturned or charred.

"...what in the Kami's name happened here?" Jun murmured, looking around incredulously. Maki said nothing, but bent down near one of the carriages and got up shortly afterwards, holding something in her hand. Kagura's eyes narrowed.

"...a burned hand?"

"A child's burned, severed hand, judging from the size," Maki specified with an undecipherable expression on her face. She then noticed Rin tensing up.

"Sensei, are you all right? This might not be the best place for you to be..." she began, but fell silent after Rin cast a creepy glare her way.

"I'll be fine, Maki. Everyone look for survivors," she ordered in a harsh tone. "If any ninja show up, disable them first and ask questions later. If need be, use lethal force."

"Understood!" the three kunoichi answered simultaneously before scattering among the village's ruined buildings.

Rin took some time to watch the desolate scene again, and her eyes slowly began to let off an eerie reddish glow.

"Someone will pay for this," she murmured. "Rest in peace, fallen ones, for you shall be avenged."

And with those words, she turned around and started hunting for survivors.

xxxx

It wasn't long before a low whistling pierced the air. Rin looked up, eyes narrowing. _So Jun found something worth examining_, she thought. _The whistle came from the northeastern corner..._

Rin immediately set in motion and took to the rooftops, quickly jumping towards the source of the whistle. As she approached the location she estimated the signal to have come from, she noticed Kagura to her left, approaching fast. The two exchanged a nod, then Kagura motioned for Rin's right side. As Rin expected, when she looked that way she saw Maki approaching at a slower pace.

The three kunoichi landed near an apparently deserted house. The kunai stuck to the house's wall, however, was immediately recognized as one of Jun's. Rin wasted no time and entered the house, ready for anything unexpected. She was greeted by the sight of several heads turning towards her, most of those heads' owners shrinking back from her with a fearful expression. Jun stood before the small group of villagers - no more than thirty men and women in total, and none of them younger than 20.

Rin bit her lower lip. The absence of young ones was a bad sign.

"Rin-sensei, those are allegedly all the survivors of the missing-nin attack that took place here yesterday morning," Jun informed her. "And we have a problem... the missing-nin apparently kidnapped all the surviving children and several of the women to ensure that no action would be taken towards them."

"I figured as much," Rin nodded. "That kind of action fits the maggots that did this."

"Y-you're not with them...?" a woman in her thirties asked fearfully. "You're really not going to hit us? You're not going to... k-kill us?"

"We'll do none of that," Rin reassured the woman. The Jounin's face then hardened. "I want you to tell us what happened here, and where those outlaw scum are hiding."

"W-what will you do then? They said they'd kill our women and children if we tried anything funny..." a young man whined.

"Isn't it obvious?" Maki said in a determined tone. "We are going to rescue the hostages and exterminate some two-legged rats."

"But... our children...!"

"Have no fear," Kagura spoke up in a calm tone. "Our priority will be the hostages' safety. Cleaning up can wait."

"Well then... here's what happened..."

xxxx

In the next hour, the four kunoichi found out that the village had been targeted by a band of about a dozen missing-nin in the last month. However, the day before the village had tried to offer resistance for the first time. The missing-nin's reaction had been brutal: most of the able-bodied men were killed, along with several of the women and children. All the surviving children, as well as most of the younger women, had been kidnapped and threatened of death should the villagers ask for help from anyone.

The villagers informed them that the missing-nin had probably taken up residence in an old abandoned mansion southwest of Kudan. They probably also laid traps around it to discourage intruders.

Finally, the village elders offered the four any food or supplies they might need in exchange for the safety of the imprisoned people. The deal was quickly made, and in a few minutes the Marsh women were out of Kudan again, heading south.

xxxx

"Traps, pfft," Jun said in a mocking tone, holding up a mass of tangled wires. "Any Genin worth his salt could disarm these hunks of junk with both eyes closed. Those missing-nin most definitely aren't A-class criminals... they're just honourless scavengers."

"Don't get overconfident, Jun," Rin said in a low voice. "Remember, you may easily step on the ants, but even ants might still sting your feet and force you to crawl."

"Comparing these lowlifes to ants might be insulting towards the ants, though," Kagura pointed out in a completely serious tone. Maki snorted in amusement. Kagura had always been able to dish out the worst insults without so much as twitching an eyebrow, and while she came across as hostile and unfeeling to most, it was just her way of getting unwelcome strangers to stay out of her personal space.

"Well, yes. Even insects only kill out of need," Rin agreed. "Still, they are to be treated with caution. Do not forget they have hostages."

Maki's smirk vanished. "Don't worry, sensei," she said quietly, an angry scowl twisting her bandaged features. "I doubt I will forget that anytime soon."

"Good. Now... let us take a look before going in," Rin concluded, motioning for the run-down mansion before them. "Then we'll formulate a plan. Gather here as soon as you're done scouting. Do not let yourselves get caught. Understood?"

"Hai, sensei," was the simultaneous response. Then the four kunoichi split up.

Minutes later, the four regrouped and shared what they found during their scouting trip.

"The villagers must be in the eastern wing of the building," Jun reported. "I picked up several faint chakra trails and a stronger one coming from it."

"Hm... there must be a guard then," Rin nodded. "That means we must exercise caution. The best course of action would be to lure the bulk of their forces away..."

"I counted thirteen missing-nin prowling the area, as well as a fourteenth guarding the main gate," Kagura said. "Whoever takes care of the luring part needs to be strong enough to fight against overwhelming odds."

"I'll do it," Maki offered. "As for how to get inside, there's a hole in a section of the wall covered by high grass. I think those ninja failed to notice it, or perhaps the wall broke down recently."

"...Amateurs, all of them," Rin murmured with a cruel smile, the sobered up. "However, I shall be the one to lure them out."

The three girls looked at their sensei with an odd expression.

"Sensei, will you be all right?" Maki asked with a disturbed look on her face. "I'd much rather not force you to use _it_. I don't feel too good, but I can handle myself against such careless opponents..."

"You are being overconfident, now," Rin chided her. "They may be acting like amateurs, but missing-nin are always dangerous opponents. And quite frankly, you look like you are having a bad day."

"But..." Jun interjected with an equally disturbed expression. Even Kagura appeared to disapprove. Rin sighed.

"If it makes you feel better, I will try not to use _it_," she conceded. "My own skills should suffice, anyway. Does this satisfy you?"

"...very well," Kagura nodded reluctantly. The other two nodded as well. Rin motioned for them to get closer.

"Now that this is out of the way, here's what we will do..."

xxxx

A few minutes later, one of the missing-nin entered the gang's leader and bowed hurriedly.

"Katsu-san, there's a strange unidentified kunoichi at the gates," he explained to the annoyed shinobi before him. "She's carrying a large scythe on her back, and her forehead protector has on it a symbol none of us has ever seen before."

"...hmm? An unidentified kunoichi?" the man named Katsu murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Has she stated what she wants?"

"No, Katsu-san. She merely said she wishes to speak with our leader," the missing-nin replied with a frown. "Also... there is a very creepy aura about her. Most of the other shinobi are scared of her."

"Pathetic. Grown men fearing a lone woman!" Katsu scoffed in disdain. "I'll show you how to treat annoying women. Follow me, and gather everybody while you're at it. I'll make sure everyone understands..."

xxxx

At the gates, Rin found herself growing bored. Not only were those missing-nin amateurs, they were also obviously unnerved by the peculiar aura around her. Granted, she was _intentionally_ intimidating them, but that did not excuse them from being complete wimps...

"You, woman!" a voice came from the walls, snapping her out of her thoughts. Lifting her gaze, she rapidly counted fourteen nin looking at her from the manor's outer walls. She smirked. _Perfect, this will make it easy for the girls..._

The man who called out to her addressed her again. "What is it you want, woman?" he asked in a nonchalant tone. "Speak, and I might decide not to kill you."

"...funny you should mean death to me," Rin said, letting a cruel smile appear on her face. "I came here to kill you. You are all wanted, and there is an interesting bounty on your heads."

"A female bounty hunter? Now _there's_ a laugh riot!" the nin leader mocked her. "And kill us? Woman, do you have eyes? Look at us! We outnumber you. It is you who will die!"

"You delude yourselves with fantasies of power," Rin replied, still smiling. She reached for her scythe and drew it slowly, holding it in front of her. "But if you wish to prove your words, by all means... do so. I am right here..."

"What a waste of time," the leader replied in a bored tone. He then waved at the other missing-nin. "Boys, do whatever you want with her... and when you're done, slit her throat."

As soon as he said that, there was a _whoosh _from his left, followed by a strangled gurgling sound. He looked over, and his eyes widened as he saw Rin stand there, with two halves of what was once one of his men lying at her feet, twitching.

The bisected nin coughed and rattled a little longer, then became still. Rin let her gaze shift from the ruined corpse to the shinobi surrounding her, and suddenly a creepy light appeared in her eyes.

_"Y o u w i l l d i e . . ."_ she murmured in an otherworldly voice. A chilly gust of wind suddenly swirled around her. The missing-nins froze like deers caught in a headlight, until the leader finally snapped out of his reverie ad pointed a finger at her.

"_Kill her!"_

xxxx

As Maki, Jun and Kagura slipped in the mansion from the hole in the cracked wall, a wave of dread suddenly washed over them, causing them to stop abruptly.

"Sensei, you promised...!" Maki murmured, teeth clenching.

"She is not using _it_, just letting _its_ presence be known," Kagura interrupted her. "We must hurry. The longer we take, the greater the risk."

Maki growled in frustration, but nodded. The three resumed moving, swiftly aiming for the eastern wing's door.

xxxx

The missing-nin guarding the hostages was bored. There was nothing to do all day - he had to keep his eye on the prisoners, and e was forbidden from even having fun with the women. He sighed. _Why me?_, he thought sourly.

His thoughts were interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream coming from the outer wall. He shot up in alarm and raced to the window, but was unable to see anything from his position. More shouts and cries for help echoed in the air, and he immediately sprang through the door, opened it and ran out.

The last thing he saw in his life was a bandaged fist rushing towards his face. Then he felt a flash of pain, and nothing more.

xxxx

The impact of Maki's fist with the missing nin's head was terrifying. The blow easily caved the unfortunate shinobi's skull in with a loud crunch and sent him flying clean across the room he had been guarding. A sickening noise of shattered bones punctuated his impact with the wall, and then his broken form fell to the ground, unmoving.

The female prisoners screeched in terror and held the crying children to their breast, half expecting to die next, but still willing to protect their young, as useless as that may be. When a massive cloaked figure appeared in the door's frame, they took a step back, fear in their eyes. Then the figure addressed them in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"Please don't worry. We're here to rescue you," she said in a rasping tone. The women were confused and not sure whether to trust this new arrival. As Maki came closer to the women one of them stared at her in surprise.

"Wait.. you're... a girl?" the young woman, a petite redhead in her early twenties, asked. Maki nodded curtly, then motioned for her to stand back.

The captives watched in awe as the bandaged kunoichi grabbed the metal bars of their prison with both hands... and pulled. A terrifying rending sound followed, and Maki ripped the entire cage right off the wall in a shower of dried paint and stone.

Kagura walked in and motioned for the door. "Please exit in an orderly fashion and keep quiet," she said. "Do not worry about your captors... if need be we shall defend you. Once you are outside, please stand near my comrade Jun and wait. Understood?"

Every head in the room nodded collectively. "Good. Get moving."

As the prisoners left, Kagura warily scanned the surroundings for signs of enemies coming her way. There was no trouble for a while, but just as the last prisoner was leaving, she noticed movement on her right. She acted instantly, throwing a kunai in that direction.

"The prisoners are escaaagghhll..." the missing nin managed to shout before being cut off by the kunai plunging in his throat. Kagura swore under her breath. Someone was bound to head that way now.

"Jun, get the hostages out of here, _now!_" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she saw three missing-nin head her way. Maki immediately joined her and the two fell in a battle stance. The bandaged nin looked at her teammate and snorted. "Let's get this over with."

As the first nin lunged at her, Kagura gracefully ducked under his swipe. She easily backed off, dodging his ever attack with dance-like, hypnotic moves. Her opponent hissed in frustration, then grinned.

"Ha, you've got your back to the wall," he mocked her. "I've got you now, bitch."

With that, he lunged again for what he expected to be a mortal blow, and was completely taken aback as Kagura seemed to... _roll_ over his arm, gracefully twisting her body and slipping by his side. Eyes wide with surprise, the nin lost his balance.

Kagura wasted no time taking advantage of that. As she unwound behind her off-balance opponent, she used her momentum to plant a kick on the small of his back, sending him straight into the wall. As the stunned ninja turned to face her, she crouched and then lashed out with a palm thrust directed at his chest. There was a sharp _crack_ and the man was thrown back in the wall again. He slowly slumped down as blood poured from his mouth, and did not get up again.

Meanwhile, Maki had taken a much less graceful approach to her two opponents. As they rushed at her she surprised them by charging them herself, and lashed out with a kick at the closest opponent's chest. The nin tried to block the blow, but found himself bending over from the terrifying force that slammed into his arms and chest. With a loud crunching sound, he felt both forearms break under the impact, and was flung over sixty feet in the air and through a nearby window. The impact broke his neck, killing him instantly.

His companion wised up after seeing that, and immediately backed off from the bandaged girl in front of him, cautiously circling around her. He noticed her movements were slightly sluggish, ad concluded that she must have been sick. He shivered involuntarily. _She's sick, and is that strong?_, he thought.

A terrifying noise caused his attention to focus on what the girl was doing, and his blood went cold. The girl had just _torn off_ the entire eastern wall of the building, and lifted it over her head with barely any sign of fatigue at all.

The nin tripped and stumbled back in terror. "W-wait!" he cried. "I surrender! Mercy!"

Maki gave him a pitiless glare. "I'll show you the same mercy you showed to the folks of Kudan," she growled. Then, with a mighty heave, she brought the wall down on her opponent. A strangled cry was followed by a loud crash and a wet sound, then silence.

xxxx

Kagura watched Maki crush her opponent with a mix of awe and exasperation. She never stopped being amazed at just how much brute force her teammate could muster, especially when emotionally distressed. On the other hand, she felt that Maki relied too much on her body's peculiar build. She rarely used jutsu, preferring to just muscle her way out of situations. Kagura sighed - in a sense, that attitude was the whole reason why Maki complemented her teammates perfectly.

With a nod, she signalled for her teammate to head for the main gate, and rapidly took off. Maki followed after her. As the two rounded the corner, they stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide, and took in the carnage before them.

The 'battle' at the main gate looked more like a massacre. Body parts were scattered all over the place, and there were blood and guts everywhere. Everything, from the dead to the very walls of the mansion, showed signs of having been torn apart with dreadful violence.

Near the gate, the two saw Rin savagely cut down the last missing-nin alive. As the shinobi fell, Rin hunched over, panting heavily.

Kagura and Jun stood transfixed for several seconds. While they knew their sensei was strong, they were having trouble accepting just how terrifyingly violent and powerful she truly was. Shaking their heads in disbelief, they slowly, timidly approached her.

xxxx

As Rin stood panting, she felt the noise of steps behind her. She immediately whirled over, ready to fight, and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing it was just her two students.

"You two..." she said, still panting. "Do not... approach me... ever again... after battle... unless you're sure... _it_ isn't around... understood?"

The two meekly nodded, staring at her with wide eyes. Rin grimaced. While it was good for them to be aware of just how potentially dangerous she was, she just wished this could have been avoided.

"Let's make sure they're all dead, then go back," Rin said after regaining her breath. "I killed ten. You?"

"Three," replied Maki.

"One," Kagura followed suit. Rin frowned.

"One's missing... perhaps it went after Jun," she muttered. "Just one isn't a threat to Jun, but let's hurry and catch up with her. Let's go."

"Hai, sensei," the two responded in unison, and the three quickly darted in the forest.

xxxx

When they caught up with Jun, they found her nonchalantly sitting on top of the missing-nin who had escaped the massacre. The freed prisoners nearby shot malevolent stares at the fallen man, who looked like he wanted to move but was too tired to do so. Rin chuckled.

"I see you're not too fond of the unwelcome snack, Jun," Rin said to her student. Jun's only answer was to cast a dark, angry glare at her. Rin's smile vanished. "Is something wrong?"

"This maggot here," Jun answered in a hiss, "the women tell me he sexually abused a number of them, and even some of the kids. I figured a quick death was too good for him."

"...he did what?" Kagura spoke up, an odd angry note in her voice. Rin looked at her with surprise. She had never heard anger in Kagura's voice in the time she had trained her.

"You heard me, Kagura-chan," Jun muttered, getting up from the downed man and kicking him in the ribs. "I had half a mind to not even feed on his chakra and just break is arms and legs to keep him from moving, but I was starting to get unstable, so I figured I might as well make him useful." The thin kunoichi then cast an odd look at Kagura. "Besides, I'm sure you can arrange for a more... creative demise for this trash."

"Yes... I believe I can," Kagura nodded, her eyes fixed on the man. The missing-nin whimpered in sudden fear - while the thin girl had easily disabled him, he could only see anger in her eyes. This new kunoichi's gaze, however, was totally different. It promised not death, but abject pain.

Maki walked up to the downed man and roughly picked him up by the neck, lifting him a good foot or so off the ground.

"Let's not be hasty," she said in a casual tone, and shook the man like a rag doll. "I'm sure this fine example of living, walking waste ca give us a _good_ reason for abusing of a bunch of women and kids, besides wanting satisfaction for his low instincts... _right?_" she punctuated the last words by tightening her grip. The nin's eyes bulged as he felt his vertebrae creak under the pressure.

"P-please, don't kill me..." he pleaded with a terrified look in his eyes.

"Kill you? What?" Maki replied with a humourless smile. "We're not going to kill you. That'd be too easy. Kagura?"

With that last word, Maki let go of the man. Kagura immediately flashed in action: before the man's feet touched the floor, she had closed in on him. With blinding sped, she lashed out at the man's midsection and chest, striking him with what felt like light taps. Kagura concluded her attack with a violent palm thrust to the stomach that sent the missing-nin rolling on the floor.

"...let's go. No point staying here anymore..." Rin said to the captives. "...unless any of you wants to stay and watch until his insides are completely rotten?"

The shinobi's eyes shot open at that. "R-rotten?" he croaked. "w-wait, what do you mean? What did you _do_ to me?"

The group of prisoners and kunoichi ignored him and walked away, towards the village. The nin suddenly felt a light heat build up in his abdomen, and started to panic.

"Wait... wait! You can't do this to me! It's inhuman! Wait... mercy! _Meeeeercy!_"

The desperate cries continued for a long, long time.

xxxx

The next morning, Rin and her team prepared to depart the village. One of the older women walked up to them and bowed formally.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you did," she said. "You saved our young, as well as those who were kidnapped. It will take a long time to repair the damage we sustained, but... no matter how low on supplies we may be, the shinobi and kunoichi of the Marsh will forever be welcome in Kudan."

"I had no idea there was a Hidden Village so close to us," another, younger woman chimed in. "Would it be possible to start trading with it? I know you probably want to be left alone, but..."

"Actually, I was thinking the same," Rin interrupted. " I located one of our scouts in the area and had him bring the news to Onikage-sama's attention. Just... please, do not let the appearance of some of us disturb you. Life in the marsh is hard, and it shaped us so that we might survive."

"No worries," the older woman shook her head. "Our gratitude to you is too great to let little things like looks get in the way."

"I'm glad to hear that," Rin smiled. "Thank you for the supplies. I hate to ask you this when your village is in such condition, but..."

"'Twas the least we could do for you," the younger woman said with a wave of her hand. "Come back anytime. We'll look forward to seeing you again."

"Thank you again," Rin replied with a formal bow. Then she turned to her students and nodded. "Let us go."

As the four left the village, Maki spoke up.

"Sensei?"

"What is it?" Rin asked. Maki looked straight at her.

"Regardless of what you did back there... we believe in you," the bandaged girl said in a low voice. Kagura and Jun merely nodded in agreement. Rin's features softened, and she smiled at them.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me. Now shall we go? It's still a long way to the Wave Country."

The three younger girls nodded, and within moments, all three disappeared in the forest.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(A/N: Chapter 7 DONE! I hope you liked it. I decided that instead of focusing on Naruto's team, I might as well let you see sides of my OCs that were unknown so far. I hope you liked this unexpected change of POVs.

Oh, and FanFiction Net forced me to change my format... AGAIN. Why the constant changes? I'm running out of ideas here...

As always, R&R! Constructive criticism is welcome. GH out!)


	10. Chapter 8: Training Days

(A/N: And Chapter 8 comes up! As usual, review feedback comes first:

Dan Inverse: Yeah, yeah, I'm going back to Team 7. Now you can find out what technique Ino learned, happy?

DarkJackel: Hehehe... yeah, the Marsh kunoichi pretty much consider Naruto as an avatar of their protector god. You'll later find out something else about them, though...

EfrainMan: HEH. Nice omake. Though, due to Maki's nature, kissing her would be lethal, to say the least... but hey, it's all in good fun!

RurouniGochan: Thanks for the review. And also thanks for your pointers over AIM. I'll treasure them!

OK, done... now we return to Team 7. You'll find out what the result of Ino's training was, and get to see some interaction before Zabuza strikes. Hopefully, I'll do a good job... Read on!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality, as well as proofreading;

TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu;

Tsukinosakura and Gochan from RKDreams for more proofreading;

Ice Dragon XXI for EVEN MORE proofreading;

Several other people who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ indicate thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. If you encounter a bolded **1234567890**, it is a scene change and/or a separator. Thank FanFiction Net for eating my formatting AGAIN.)

_**Chapter 8: Training Days  
**_

_Wave Country_

Ino lay on the ground, panting. Sweat covered her from head to toe, causing her clothes to stick to her body. One could almost think she had just taken a swim from how drenched in sweat she was - even her hair stuck to her face and neck in the way only wet hair can.

Despite being completely exhausted, Ino was in a state of exhilaration. It had taken four days of back-breaking training, but she had finally managed to learn the jutsu Basara had been trying to teach her. Ino grinned broadly - that jutsu didn't look like much, but its potential was almost limitless.

**Pity you can only use it three times before fainting from exertion,** Basara interjected, causing Ino's smile to fade slightly. The kitsune had a point: this jutsu required a truly obscene amount of chakra, especially to use its more powerful effects. Even so, three uses were more than enough in most situations. The destruction around her was proof of this.

Ino once again looked at her training site, and again marveled at just how much she had managed to devastate it. Large burn marks were scattered across the field; several trees were charred; some others were frozen solid or shattered; yet more, smaller trees were just plain uprooted. Ino shook her head.

_To think something as tiny as that could do this..._, she thought to herself incredulously.

**Don't underestimate the power of a _monju_, Ino,** Basara cautioned her. **And don't try experimenting with strange effects in the middle of a fight either. Keep it simple... you never know what a _monju_'s effect will be.**

Ino nodded. She had seen enough during her training to realize that trying fancy stuff could very well get her killed when using this jutsu, and she had no intention of being frozen, charred or worse.

As she got up in a sitting position, she heard a rustling behind her. She turned around to see a very pretty girl emerge from the forest and look around with a shocked look.

**Sorry to contradict you, Ino, but that's a male,** Basara pointed out. Ino's eyes widened. _A guy? He's prettier than even Kurenai-sensei!_

**Yes, definitely a male. Unless I've grown so senile I can't tell male from female by scent alone... strange, he smells familiar,** the kitsune added. **Where did I smell his scent before?**

While Basara tried to remember where she'd felt that scent before, the boy (?) approached Ino cautiously. He stopped a few feet away and cast a questioning glance her way.

"Uh... do you by any chance know what happened here?" he asked, observing her. Ino scratched the back of her head and let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Er, I kind of overdid it with training... sorry. Were you looking for herbs?" she asked, noticing a basket full of leaves and roots hanging from the newcomer's arm.

"Yes, but I doubt I'll find any in this mess..." he said with a frown, surveying the carnage. Ino blushed guiltily.

"Sorry..."

"Never mind..." the boy reassured her with a small smile. "I'll just look elsewhere. Training... are you a kunoichi?"

Ino nodded, examining him. He definitely looked feminine, but she could pick up an underlying feeling of resolve. Whoever this boy was, he had strong beliefs and upheld them without fail.

"I see..." the boy murmured. "And... why are you training?"

"Hm? Mostly to get stronger," Ino replied, leaning back on her elbows and letting the sunlight wash over her face. "I'm in a team, but right now I'm only slowing the others down, for the most part. I want to be strong enough to actually be useful to them, instead of just being dead weight."

"Aaah... I understand..." the boy nodded, then smiled. "You must care a great deal for your teammates to exhaust yourself like this with training."

"Of course!" Ino smiled. "They're also my friends, though sometimes I feel the urge to smack them. One of them is loud and obnoxious, while the other broods far too much, and our sensei is a pervert who's always late for training... but I wouldn't exchange them with anyone else. Especially Naruto..."

Ino chuckled in embarrassment. The boy smiled at her again.

"Naruto, eh?" he said. "Is that your precious person?"

Ino blushed violently and frantically shook her head no, then stopped and grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, hehehe... something like that, I suppose... but we're just friends! I swear!"

The boy chuckled, hiding his mouth behind his hand. Ino glared at him.

"It's true, I tell you!" she insisted. The boy held his hands up in surrender.

"I believe you. Say, I'm looking for more of these medicinal herbs. Have you seen any around here?" he asked, holding his basket out. Ino peered at it.

"Medicinal herbs like those, eh?" Ino said. She got on her feet and looked around, then grimaced. "Uh, I think I saw some, but in this mess it'll be hard to find any..."

For the next few minutes, Ino and the pretty boy looked around the devastated glade, scrounging up whatever herbs hadn't been frozen, burned or blown up. The boy pointed Ino to a few herbs with strong medicinal properties, and Ino listened with great interest to his explanation.

"So that's how you make a burn ointment, huh," she murmured, filing the information away for later use. "Thanks for teaching me. I always mess up when cooking, so this could be of some use to me..."

The boy chuckled. Ino smiled and laughed as well. She then glanced behind him and noticed Sasuke at the edge of the glade, staring at the utter devastation around them.

"Ah, my teammate's here. Sorry, I have to go. Good luck with your medical job!" Ino said in an almost apologetic tone. The boy waved his hand in dismissal.

"Don't be sorry. You helped me a lot," he said. "By the way, I am..."

"A boy, I know. You can't fool me," Ino said as she waved and dashed away. The boy stared at her retreating form in confusion. How did she guess? He then smiled, shaking is head, and his gaze shifted to Sasuke, who was now staring at him. He briefly nodded his head, then turned around and left without another word, thinking about what he saw.

_The Copy-Ninja might not be the most dangerous opponent after all..._, he mused.

**1234567890**

As Ino approached Sasuke, the dark-haired boy focused on her again and lifted an eyebrow.

"Exactly what happened here, Ino? Did Zabuza attack you?" he asked, pointing at the wanton destruction around them. Ino smiled sheepishly.

"Uh, I was experimenting with jutsu and kinda got carried away," she explained. Sasuke just gave her a 'come on, spit it out' look, and Ino shook her head with an evil grin. "I'll show you another time... maybe. Why'd you come here anyway? I brought lunch along with me..."

"Kakashi-sensei says he wants you to come back and train together with us," the dark-haired boy shrugged. "He sent me to fetch you."

"I see... well, why not? I'm done with my own training here anyway," the blonde shrugged. Sasuke gave her a curious look.

"What kind of jutsu WERE you practicing, anyway?"

"Sorry, it's a secret!" Ino taunted him before running off. Sasuke sighed and followed at a more leisurely pace. He could swear Naruto was beginning to rub off on her.

**1234567890**

That evening everyone ate together. Naruto was deadly tired from his own training, but was grinning happily nonetheless. On the other side of the table Tazuna's grandson Inari was staring at him with a barely concealed expression of hostility. Naruto noticed that and cast a curious glance at the kid.

"What is it?" he asked. Inari kept staring at him a while longer, then got up and slammed his hands on the table, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Why do you bother? Even if you train a lot, you have no chance against Gatoo's men!" he shouted. "What you say or do doesn't matter! The weak are always defeated by the strong!"

All the presents stared at Inari in shock. That is, all of them except Naruto (who frowned at him) and Ino (who snorted derisively).

"Shut up, kid," Naruto retorted. "I'm not like you."

"You piss me off! You keep running your mouth even though you know nothing of this country!" Inari shouted even louder. "What do you know of me? You always laugh like a moron because you have no idea of what suffering is like!"

**CRACK**

Everyone suddenly stared at Ino, who had just splintered her end of the table by ramming her fist into it. An extremely displeased expression was on her face, and she was staring directly at Inari. The boy shrank back, suddenly afraid, and for a brief instant Kakashi tensed, fearing that she was about to assault the boy. _Why is she reacting like this,_ the copy-nin wondered. _She's taking this so personally, you'd think the kid insulted her and not Naruto._

"_Shut up_, you whining brat," Ino hissed in a tone of voice so venomous, it made even Kakashi flinch. "What do _you_ know about suffering? You, at least, have a family. Naruto has none. Nor does Sasuke... his entire clan, including his parents, was murdered in one night, in case you want to know."

Inari's eyes widened and Sasuke's breath caught in his throat as Ino continued, her voice switching to a deathly cold tone.

"For his entire life, Naruto has been shunned by his own village," Ino murmured. "Without friends, without a family, hated and despised because of something he had absolutely no responsibility for, nor choice about. Do people call _you_ monster? Do they spit on the very ground _you_ walk on? Do they refuse to even acknowledge _your_ existence? Do they wish... no, _pray_... for _your_ death?"

The whole room was silent as Ino's voice slowly increased in volume with every question, never losing its icy tone. The Leaf kunoichi got up to her feet and stalked out of the room. Before slamming the door, she cast one last glance at a stunned Inari.

"Until you've been through everything Naruto or Sasuke have experienced," she finished, giving the now-silent boy a look of pure contempt, "do not bother claming that you know what true suffering is. You know _nothing_."

With those words, she violently slammed the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges, and stalked out of the house, seething with anger.

**1234567890**

Inside the house, everyone looked at the half-broken door in stunned silence. Sasuke was confused: Ino had reacted as if Inari had insulted her personally, and how did she know so much about Naruto anyway?

Naruto and Kakashi, however, had the same thought in their minds: _Does she know? And how?_ Both the genin and the jounin had noticed Ino's mention of 'something he had no choice about'. Neither had any idea where Ino could have picked that piece of information up, but both were now determined to find out.

_If someone in Konoha let something slip before a genin,_ Kakashi darkly thought, _heads are going to roll... literally, not figuratively._

"...what's gotten into her?" Sasuke muttered, looking at Naruto. "She acted as if they had just killed her beloved pet. You know anything, Dead Last?"

"...no idea. I'm wondering too... HEY! What did you call me?" Naruto glared at Sasuke, shaking his fist at him. Sasuke sighed.

"Forget it, moron. I'm more concerned about Ino. That reaction is not like her..." Sasuke muttered, still confused by the kunoichi's outburst.

"I'll go talk to her," Kakashi nodded at the two boys. "Stay here and try not to kill each other, all right?"

As the jounin left, he heard Naruto yell at Sasuke again. He sighed. So much for peace and quiet...

**1234567890**

Ino punched the huge tree before her again with all her strength. Her knuckles were bloodied and scraped due to the impact with the tree's bark, but she didn't care. She kept venting her anger on the tree's trunk, hitting it with enough force to crack the wood and send splinters flying in all directions.

She was angry. Very, very angry. She was angrier than she had been in a very long time.

It was not fair. No one besides herself and maybe Kakashi gave Naruto any credit at all, or even treated him as a human being. Even she, blind sheep that she was, had done what everyone else did and ignored him, or worse, until a short time ago. Why? Why did everyone treat him that way? What fault could possibly be placed on a kid for the actions of a now-harmless monster forcibly sealed inside his body when he was still a baby and had no say on the matter?

She had been angry at this situation ever since Basara had told her about the Kyuubi and the village's treatment of Naruto, but she had managed to keep her rage to a low simmer. Then Inari had poured verbal fuel on the fire... and she had blown up. She didn't regret her harsh words in the least. Every single one was wholly deserved. How _dare_ that brat assume he had it worse than anybody else?

She gritted her teeth in frustration and punched the tree again, putting every single drop of fury and contempt she had in the blow. The tree's trunk shattered with a loud _crack_, and she jumped out of the way as it fell to the ground with a thud, shaking the ground.

Ino panted, staring at her handiwork, then stomped her foot repeatedly. This wasn't right! It simply wasn't!

**Life isn't fair to begin with, Ino,** Basara interjected, a displeased feeling radiating from her. **But I agree with you. This situation is particularly unfair on Naruto. He has no fault for the Kyuubi's actions, yet the villagers treat him as if he _was_ the Kyuubi. Which makes no sense but, with all due respect for you, humans rarely make sense at all.**

_I won't argue with you about THAT,_ Ino replied acidly, her anger slowly returning to acceptable levels. _I don't have to like it, either._

**As well you shouldn't. I'm sure Naruto appreciated your standing up for him,** Basara agreed. **But don't you think maybe you said too much? Kakashi looked at you in a suspicious way.**

_Do I look like I care,_ Ino snorted. _It had to be said, and I said it, and I'll be damned if I take back my words because some nosy perverted jounin might read too much in it. I'll have to tell him about you eventually anyway._

**Probably right now,** Basara commented. **He's behind us.**

Ino groaned inwardly and turned to stare at the silver-haired jounin as he emerged from the bushes. Kakashi raised his hand in greeting.

"Yo," he said. "Did you hear me coming?"

"I didn't," Ino sighed, too tired to bother making up excuses he'd see right through with ease anyway. "Basara did."

"Basara...?" Kakashi repeated, blinking at her with a confused look in his visible eye. "You mean the Shikigami Basara?"

Ino let out a short, mirthless laugh, then shook her head negatively and motioned for him to come closer. Kakashi complied without a word.

"Sit down, get comfortable, shut the hell up and listen carefully, pervert-sensei," she commanded without even looking at him. "This is going to take a while to explain, and I'm not in the mood to repeat it twice, so you'd better get all of it in one try. Otherwise, tough luck."

Kakashi merely nodded. Whatever it was, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

**1234567890**

He didn't like it.

"You mean you've had an _unsealed demon_ inside you for the last two or so months and you never told me _anything_?" Kakashi muttered in a disbelieving tone. The story the girl told him in the last two hours was rather unbelievable, but she didn't feel like she was lying, and eventually Kakashi had to admit it made sense. All that sudden strength and speed, the violent mood swings, the apparent change in her base personality... it all fit together now. The jounin eyed his pupil apprehensively.

"Is it... dangerous?" he cautiously asked. He immediately grimaced as Ino shot him a killer look.

"_She,_" Ino corrected him. "Not 'it', not 'creature'. _She_."

Kakashi gave her a curious look. "So... is she friendly?"

"Yes," Ino nodded. "In fact, she's been doing an excellent job of keeping me alive and making me stronger."

"Stronger, huh? How?" Kakashi asked, his interest piqued.

"Watch."

Ino started doing a rapid series of hand seals. Kakashi whistled inwardly: her seal-making speed had considerably improved in just four days. He observed the succession of seals. Donkey, tiger, donkey, donkey, horse, tiger... _huh_?

Kakashi blinked. Ino had done a seal he'd never seen before. He lost track of the seals she made next, trying to identify it, when Ino completed the sequence and held her hand out.

"_Seikyuu: Monju no Jutsu!_" she said. Kakashi stared in amazement as chakra began to pool in her palm, concentrating itself until it became a tiny bead-sized pale blue sphere that shone ominously in the night.

"...what is this? I never saw this jutsu before," Kakashi murmured, staring at the sphere. He then looked at Ino again. "And what was that seal you made?"

"One at a time, sensei," Ino said with a proud smile. She had surprised even the infamous copycat-nin, Kakashi. "First, the seal I made is called Kirin. Basara tells me it is related to a mythological animal of some sort, but it kind of went a little over my head, hehehe."

She laughed in embarrassment, then pointed at the sphere in her hand. "This is called a _monju_. It is a sphere made of compressed and solidified chakra. By itself, it has no effect, but if I do this..."

Ino's brows furrowed as she concentrated, staring intensely at the sphere. Suddenly, it glowed, and a word appeared over it. Kakashi blinked.

"...'Kaen'?" he asked, looking at Ino. She merely smiled.

"Watch, now." she said, and threw the sphere at the fallen trunk of the tree she had demolished. The _monju_ sailed in the air and struck the tree.

And then it burst into flames.

Kakashi jumped to his feet, crouching low in a fighting pose and looking around, but Ino lightly put her hand on his arm and shook her head.

"Don't worry, sensei, we're not under attack," she explained. "That _monju_, it had 'kaen' on it, did it not?"

Kakashi nodded, and Ino smiled, pointing at the tree. The jounin's eye shot open in sudden understanding. Of course! Why didn't he think of it before?

"Those _monju_... they can take on elemental properties?" he asked Ino. She nodded.

"Not just elemental properties, sensei," she added. "They only work when a single word is inscribed in them, but as long as there's only one word, you can obtain an effect related to it. You can conjure fire, or freeze something, or blow it up, or even heal wounds..." She grinned sheepishly. "But, uh, Basara forbid me from experimenting with weird words. She said I'm liable to kill myself if I mess up, as even she has no idea what most words will do when inscribed on a _monju_."

"She's damn right, you shouldn't," Kakashi said, nodding. "In fact, I explicitly forbid you from trying new words on your _monju_ unless you're under my direct supervision. Stick with what Basara taught you. For now, I'm willing to trust her judgment, since she's been obviously greatly helping us." Kakashi's eye narrowed. "You do realize I'll have to report this to the Hokage, right?"

Ino nodded. "As long as you don't attempt something stupid like trying to seal her, I'm fine. But Basara's my friend, and you'll lock her up or otherwise harm her over my dead body." She glared defiantly at the copy-nin.

Kakashi didn't answer immediately, instead carefully examining Ino's posture. He liked what he saw. Ino was tense, but displayed no fear. She was serious about that: she'd have rather died than allow any kind of harm to come over her new, albeit inhuman, friend.

Furthermore, Kakashi was impressed by Basara's honesty. Ino had told him of what choices were available to her friend, and Kakashi had to admit he respected the female demon for actually mentioning solutions that would've freed Ino at the cost of the kitsune's own existence. Malevolent demons wouldn't even have considered mentioning such things.

"Very well," he nodded after a while. "I'm still concerned about that whole 'merge souls together' business, but I'll trust the two of you for the time being. But if Basara goes out of control and becomes a threat to us all, the deal is off. Understood?"

Ino remained silent for a few seconds, looking as if she was listening to a distant sound. She then refocused, looked at Kakashi and nodded.

"Basara says it's a fair request, and agrees to your terms, swearing upon her honor as kitsune to uphold her end of the bargain." the Genin informed him. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. Ino smirked. "What? You thought demons have no honor? Maybe some, but both Basara and the Kyuubi, strangely enough, are demons of their word. They just never give it under normal circumstances, thus not having to worry about keeping their promises."

Kakashi blinked several times at the blonde girl before him, then started laughing. That sounded just like what a ninja would do! _Perhaps this kitsune isn't too different from us..._, he smirked, still laughing hard enough to make his sides hurt.

Ino shook her head with a sigh. Truth be told, she found the concept amusing as well, not to mention logical. Don't want to deal with the hassle of keeping a promise? Just don't promise at all. Heh.

As the two walked back to the house, Ino felt slightly better. At least, she could see that Kakashi understood, though Naruto's situation still left a sour taste in her mouth. Kakashi advised her to concentrate on the problem at hand. There'd be plenty of time to deal with the rest once they made it back to Konoha, but that would be problematic if they came back in a bunch of nailed coffins, now wouldn't it? Ino couldn't help but laugh and agree.

Perhaps this evening hadn't been totally negative.

**1234567890**

For the next three days, Team 7 kept training. Naruto and Sasuke redoubled their effort in climbing trees, while Kakashi got himself back in shape and Ino guarded Tazuna and his crew at the bridge.

The two boys typically returned from their training looking like rag dolls that had been just assaulted by rabid wolves. Which was predictable enough, as neither of them was willing to even consider being beaten by the other, and as a result both kept going until they could barely move.

Ino just sighed in resignation when the boys came home in shambles. She would never understand men, she was fairly sure of that. Basara said nothing, but was privately amused by Ino's thoughts. The blonde kunoichi had done the exact same thing for four days straight, to an even more extreme level, but conveniently ignored that little detail, much to the kitsune's amusement.

Inari carefully avoided Ino for that time, but not out of fear. Rather, Kakashi had quietly talked to him about the situation and Ino's currently unstable temper, and the boy was advised to stay out of her sight until she had calmed down. While Ino had been brutal in talking to him, she wasn't a bad girl. She just had a scary temper. Kakashi made sure to get Inari to promise not to tell Ino that little tidbit. He had a pretty good idea of how she'd react, and he wasn't overly fond of abject pain.

As the bridge's completion drew near, Kakashi became more vigilant and began to join Ino in her guard duty over the bridge. He had talked to Ino about Basara, and while he was fairly sure the kitsune could have wiped the floor with Zabuza and whoever else he brought along, the fact Ino couldn't consciously relinquish control of her body to the other made relying on her overly dangerous and potentially lethal.

Nothing particular happened for three days. On the third day's evening, Tazuna commented that the bridge was almost done and would be completed by the end of the week. Naruto grinned and gave him the thumbs-up. The old bridge maker smiled. Kakashi added that from the next day, Sasuke and Naruto would do guard duty on the bridge as well. Both genin nodded.

Then, on the morning of the fourth day...

**1234567890**

"See you later. Take care of Naruto for us, will you? He overexerted himself yesterday, and I doubt he can move today." Kakashi said with a smile. Tazuna's daughter Tsunami nodded, smiling back.

"All right, let's go," Tazuna urged the group. Ino and Sasuke nodded. They waved to Tsunami and then took off for the bridge.

As they approached the working site, however, Ino became aware of an unnerving aura nearby. It was very faint, but she could still pick it up, although only barely. Just then a gasp came from in front of her, and she immediately refocused on her surroundings. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the sight before her.

Four of Tazuna's workers were lying face down in pools of blood. Three of them were obviously dead, while the last one was barely alive.

Tazuna rushed to his men's side. "What happened?" he asked to the lone survivor. The man groaned and coughed blood, before answering in a weak whisper.

"M...monster..." he croaked. "A m...monster..." Then he expired.

Kakashi glanced at his side and noticed Ino's expression. While he was worried, he couldn't help but smile. Ino was showing great potential under Basara's coaching. If this kept up, he could tell she would do great things in the future.

Ino dropped in a guarded stance, her eyes narrowing even further. This was it... no more training, but a life or death fight. She felt strangely excited.

"It is time..." she murmured, and both Kakashi and Sasuke simply nodded. "Let the dance begin."

**1234567890**

(A/N: Okay, another chapter done! And another cliffhanger! MUAHAHAHAHA! Since in this chapter there's a new jutsu and a few japanese words, let me post a description of the jutsu and a mini-dictionary:

**Seikyuu: Monju no Jutsu (Spiritual Sphere: Monju Technique)**

A high level technique with wild effects taught by Basara to Yamanaka Ino. The technique concentrates a large amount of chakra in a tiny, bead-sized sphere. Subsequently, a single word can be inscribed in it. Depending on the word, the sphere can have various effects, such as invoking winds, exploding or even curing ailments.

**Kaen:** Flame. Simple enough, no?

Now, I have an important question. I'm undecided on whether I should allow Haku to survive or not. What is your vote? I have ideas for the story in both cases, so I'll let you, the readers decide: SHOULD HAKU SURVIVE? Review and vote!

As always, R&R! Constructive criticism is welcome. GH out!)


	11. Chapter 9: Bridge of Shattered Dreams, P...

(A/N: Here comes Chapter 9! Thanks for all the reviews. As usual, review answers first:

Thermopyle: The story is heavily Ino-centric. Furthermore, while the main pairing is Ino/Naruto, there ARE interactions with other characters, including a bit of Naruto/Hinata. So expect Ino to be the story's focus. Sorry if this disappoints you.

DanInverse: Yeah, the _monju_ is indeed the same technique used by Tadao Yokoshima in GS Mikami. In this fic it's made through chakra and has different effects, but other than that it's the same thing.

HikaruOfArrow: Yeah, 'Haku lives' is overused. Besides, his death was an important turning point for Naruto.

The Sandman: Hm, you have a point. Getting Haku 'right' is hard. Plus between the cast and my OCs, it's going to hard to keep track of him as well.

Tombadgerlock: Naruto never uses more than a shred of Kyuubi's power. The difference is negligible. So no, he isn't any weaker. The question you should ask is how potentially strong _Ino_ is. Basara is for all intents and purposes an extremely powerful fox spirit, and is inside her body, _unsealed_. Think about it.

About Sasuke... yes, he's an idiot, but what he said about loneliness was right. I had to give him props for the one thing he did right in the manga.

Basara knows about Kage Bunshin because Naruto had mastered it shortly before she was 'born'. She has erratic memories of Kyuubi's life, and knowledge of several very powerful kinjutsu, but other than that, Basara is her own person.

Obiki Doragon: It's too early to say 'mates'. Ino does have a better understanding of Naruto, and in a way she's become attached to him, but even she isn't totally sure about how she feels towards him, as you may have noticed by how erratic her emotions are. She's confused and unsure of how to act.

Basara, on the other hand, is attracted to Naruto because he's strong. She's a kitsune, after all, so evaluating males as potential mates is natural, and Naruto would undoubtedly give her strong pups, so to speak. That doesn't necessarily mean she's chosen him, but since she knows him deeply, he's the best choice so far.

On a side note, Basara's inhuman nature will reflect on Ino in the future, in a most peculiar way... hehehe.

OK, done. Now... for the story, I've decided to have Haku die. It, quite frankly, is necessary to the story. I'll also let you have a glimpse of the power the 'new' Ino has... kukukukuku! As always, I hope you have fun. Read on!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The characters of Basara, Onikage, Maki Yamazaki, Kagura Moritsuna, Jun Rando and Rin Watanabe are original creations of mine, along with any other OCs that may pop up later.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

The Wretched from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu, suggesting effects, character bios and a heck of a lot more... my single greatest contributor, heheh;

Hunter Sopko from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality, as well as proofreading;

TheHomelessGuy and TG Cloud from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

TheCerebralAssasin from GameFAQs for more suggestions;

Tsukinosakura and RurouniGochan for more proofreading;

Ice Dragon XXI for EVEN MORE proofreading;

Several other people who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to YOU for reading this fic, of course! 

NOTE: This chapter was reuploaded twice due to typos. Forgive me for the inconvenience.

("This" is speech. _Italics_ are thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. 1**234567890** indicates a scene/perspective change. _Underlined locations in italics_ are a location change.)

_**Chapter 9: Bridge of Shattered Dreams, Part 1**_

_Hidden Moon Village_

"Murakami-sensei, do you have any idea why we are waiting here?" Arisa Hanada questioned the man before her. The blind kunoichi, along with her teammates and the jounin instructor, had been stopped at the village's gates when they were about to leave for the Leaf, to enter the Chuunin Exams. They hadn't been told why, only that it was a direct request from the Moon's lord, Tairo Masakado.

The Beastmaster glanced at her and shrugged. "No idea. But what Masakado-sama says is what must be done," he replied. The bestial jounin wore an all-black suit with a jacket over it. He had no apparent weapons on his body. Most likely because he didn't need them: his fingerless gloves evidenced his claw-like nails, and a very sharp fang popped out of the left side of his mouth. Next to him, a massive grey wolf napped on the ground. Its name was Kaidomaru and it was, if possible, more menacing-looking than its master, even asleep.

"Still, Masakado-sama isn't the type to overlook anything in a briefing. Did the situation change? I'm worried..." Hatori pointed out. The Hagiri clan heir looked mildly irritated, which was unusual as he normally either didn't display his emotions or made them known in a very violent and spectacular fashion.

"We're going to know very soon. He's over here." Shizumaru said, interrupting his brother and pointing behind him. The Hagiri outcast was about as expressive as a stone, and would probably have made a Hyuuga proud with his complete and utter lack of apparent emotions.

The other three Moon ninja turned around, and even Kaidomaru raised its head, glancing in the direction Shizumaru had indicated. Indeed, Tairo Masakado, warlord of the Hidden Moon and renowned swordsman, was walking towards them. He wore a white gi and black hakama with matching socks and sandals, along with a large samurai hat. A sinister-looking grey sword was hanging from his side. Masakado walked with the confident posture that only a veteran warrior can have, and one could almost feel an aura of power around him.

A small, harmless-looking and very attractive woman wearing a violet kimono with a blue flower pattern trailed behind him, a relaxed expression on her beautiful face. A butterfly tattoo rested between her shapely breasts, of which her kimono exposed a generous amount, and every step she took gave the illusion that the butterfly was flapping its wings. Her jade green eyes were the only part that clashed with the sensual image she projected: hard and alert, they occasionally darted towards those who seemed to stray too close to the man walking before her.

"...why is Ageha here?" Saburo muttered with a raised eyebrow. The presence of their lord's personal bodyguard was rarely a good sign, as Ageha only got involved in potentially risky situations. Moreover, both were wearing traveling clothes... Saburo's eyes widened. "He isn't thinking of...!"

"I am afraid he is, Murakami-sensei," Shizumaru murmured. "I believe we will have the honor of escorting Tairo Masakado to Konoha."

"This isn't good..." Saburo muttered as Masakado raised a hand in greeting. Their lord had more enemies than he cared to count, and last time he had to escort him out of the village they were ambushed by two bands of ninja hellbent on assassinating the warlord. It was only thanks to Ageha and himself, along with his wolf companion Kaidomaru, that they had come out of it in one piece. The great wolf near Saburo sensed his discomfort and licked its master's hand, whining in sympathy.

"Good day to you too, Murakami-san," Masakado said with a smile while patting Kaidomaru gently on the head. The warlord knew exactly what was going through the jounin's head. His half-worried, half-horrified expression spoke volumes. Ageha's expression this morning had been similar.

"My lord, I don't think this is a good idea..." Saburo began, but Masakado cut him off.

"Yes, I am aware that there will be trouble," the Moon's lord nodded. "However, I received a worrisome report from my spy network, and I would like to confer with Sandaime Hokage about it as soon as possible. Therefore, I will join you."

"...a report?" Shizumaru asked, raising an eyebrow. Masakado shook his head.

"Forgive me, but I cannot speak of it now. It is unsafe here," the warlord apologized with a smile. "Ageha knows the details... she will fill you in when we arrive at Konoha."

"We understand..." Arisa nodded, bowing. "We will do our best to protect our lord. Masakado-sama, we will not let you down."

"I know," Masakado replied with a smile. "That is why I have decided to come with you. Now, let us depart. We have waited enough. Ageha..."

The small woman nodded silently, then motioned for the guards to open the gates. Minutes later, the six warriors and the giant grey wolf were gone.

_Wave Country_

"Nooooooo! I overslept!"

The desperate cry echoed in Tazuna's house as Naruto rushed to the bathroom to get himself ready for the day. Tsunami looked up from the shirt she was weaving as he popped in the living room, looking around with a panicked expression.

"W-where's everybody? Argh, I knew it! They left me behind!" he shouted dramatically, taking off again. Tsunami sweatdropped. How could he be so energetic after looking like a rag doll the previous evening?

"Ah, Naruto! Your sensei said you should rest toda..." she started, but Naruto rushed past her at unbelievable speed, not listening.

"I'm goooooooing! Later, Tsunami-san!"

"...I feel tired just looking at him..." the young woman sighed as she returned to weaving.

**1234567890**

As Naruto dashed in the forest, he noticed something to his right. Curious, he briefly stopped to check his finding. His eyes widened at what he found: a boar's corpse, mangled by obvious katana cuts.

As he followed the trail of blood and cuts with his eyes, he realized where the culprits were heading and his eyes widened.

_Tsunami-san and Inari...!_

**1234567890**

Tsunami screamed as the door to her house was cut to pieces. Two shady individuals stood in the shattered doorframe, smirking evilly.

"You're Tazuna's daughter, aren't you?" the first one asked. "Sorry, but you must come with us."

"W...what? Stay away!"

In the bathroom, Inari suddenly stiffened as he heard his mother scream. Without bothering to turn the water off or dry his hands, he rushed to the entrance... and froze upon seeing the two thugs drag Tsunami away.

"M...mom!" he shouted, attracting the men's attention. Tsunami stiffened.

"Inari, run! Don't come here!" she shouted. The two goons looked at each other.

"It's a kid," the second one said. "Should we take him too?"

"No, one hostage is enough," the first replied. The second smiled cruelly and unsheathed his sword.

"Well, then, time to die..."

"N... no! If you touch that child, I'll kill myself!" Tsunami shouted in desperation. The men stopped, looking at her, and she glared defiantly at them. "You want a hostage, don't you?"

"Hrm... fine. Thank your mom, kid," the first man replied. Then they left, leaving Inari alone to tremble.

_W... what can I do? They'll kill me even if I try... mom..._ Inari thought, tears welling up in his eyes. His mind went back to the talk he and Kakashi had three days before...

**1234567890**

_"Don't think badly of Ino, kid. She's not a mean person, just... lately she's been very protective of Naruto. Besides, all she said is true," the copy-ninja said as he sat beside Inari, gazing out at the lake's placid waters. He looked at him and smiled._

_"Kid, you need to trust us. Tazuna told me about your father... believe it or not, we're here to keep you from losing any more of your precious ones," the silver-haired jounin murmured, becoming serious. "But we cannot do it unless you let us do it. And even then... you'll also need to stand up for yourself, should the time come. There's only so much we can do, and in the end, only you can truly protect those you care about. Because... you love them. And that's the greatest source of strength there is."_

_The copy-nin got up and gave Inari one last smile._

_"That's why your dad fought to the end... regardless of the odds, he wished to protect those he cared about, even at the cost of his own life. Was it so wrong...?"_

_With those words, Kakashi left, leaving Inari lost in his thoughts._

**1234567890**_  
_

_They're all so determined..._ Inari thought, wiping his tears from his face. _I... wish I could be like them..._

Suddenly, the boy stood up, a new expression on his face.

_Can I be more like them?_ he thought. _I won't know unless I try. Right... dad?_

With his decision made, Inari ran after his mother's kidnappers.

**1234567890**

"STOP!"

Both Tsunami and the thugs were startled by that shout and stopped, looking back.

"Inari! What are you..."

"Huh, it's the kid. Now what... shall we kill him?" the second thug asked. The first shrugged.

"Why not? Go ahead," he replied, unsheathing his katana. His companion followed suit.

"Let my mom go!" Inari said as he rushed towards them. The two men smiled in contempt while Tsunami looked on with a horrified expression.

"No, Inari... don't...!" she cried as the men lashed out at the boy, murderous intent in their eyes...

And found themselves cutting a log.

The men blinked in confusion. Weren't they attacking a kid...?

"Sorry for being late," a new voice spoke up. The two turned around to see who had spoken...

...only to be promptly knocked unconscious by two orange blurs smacking them straight in the face. The thugs dropped like sacks of potatoes, while the Kage Bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke. Behind them, Naruto grinned and held two thumbs up.

"Victory! Hehehe..."

**1****234567890**

After tying the thugs up, Naruto turned to Inari. The boy looked elsewhere, embarrassed, until Naruto gave him an affectionate pat on the head.

"Hey, don't look so glum. I'm not mad at you for three days ago," he said with a smile. "By the way, I'm sorry that I didn't stop Ino from blowing up at you like that. I was kind of surprised too..."

"...no, she was right," Inari replied, feeling ashamed. "I said some terrible things, didn't I?"

"Hey, it's all in the past," Naruto shrugged with a grin. "Don't be a crybaby now. You protected your mom from the bad guys... you're a man now!"

Inari looked at him with a surprised expression, then smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm a big boy now!" he replied with a huge grin. "Don't worry, I'll take care of my mom!"

"Good, then I'll leave things here up to you," Naruto nodded. "If they attacked us here, then there's likely trouble at the bridge too... I must go!"

"Yeah! Go get'em!" Inari cheered as the blonde genin darted away. He smiled, looking at the sky.

_Did you see me, dad?_ he thought._ I hope you're proud!_

As the young boy ran off to the village, four figures watched from the nearby trees.

"Should we assist the kid?" one inquired. Another shook its head.

"No. Remember what our priorities are. Let us head for the bridge."

"Understood. ...do you think Uzumaki-sama will be all right, sensei?" a third figure said as it jumped off the tree, landing on its feet. The massive bandaged frame of Maki Yamazaki straightened up as she looked at the direction the orange-clad ninja had disappeared into. Her teammates and sensei joined her a moment later, and Rin shook her head in response.

"I do not know. Zabuza Momochi is rather infamous even in the Hidden Marsh," Rin murmured. "He might prove to be too much. Ah, well... let us see how things go at first... if need be, we'll join the battle to protect Uzumaki-sama."

"That's an acceptable plan," Kagura nodded. "Shall we move out?"

All four nodded at once, then they darted away.

**1234567890**

On the bridge, the mist quickly rolled in. As it enveloped Tazuna and Team 7, the three ninja quickly surrounded the old man.

"Tch... mist again," Ino muttered darkly. "How I hate it. And where the hell is Naruto? We could use another hand..."

Suddenly, a faint voice reached them through the mist.

_"Hehehehehe... It's been a while, Kakashi,"_ Zabuza's voice rang out. _"Still bringing your brats along for the ride? Look at them, poor kids. They're quaking in their boots..."_

Suddenly, several clones of Zabuza surrounded them. Ino glared darkly towards them.

"What else am I supposed to do, you eyebrowless wonder?" she replied acidly. "This damnable mist you created is too cold for my tastes, so I warm myself up any way I can."

Zabuza just smiled cruelly. Ino glanced at Sasuke, a feral grin suddenly spreading on her face.

"Hey, Sasuke... care to have some fun?" she suggested. The dark-haired boy merely smirked.

"Don't fall back now, Ino," he replied, whipping his Fuuma Shuriken out. Ino snorted, drawing two kunai... then the two genin vanished.

The next few seconds were a concentrate of unbelievable violence as Sasuke and Ino effortlessly tore through the water clones surrounding them. Kakashi just stood there, evaluating them.

_Hmm, Sasuke has more finesse, coordination and precision, _he thought. _But Ino's power and speed are nothing short of impressive. Sasuke's still faster, and likely stronger, but... is she even using the kitsune's chakra? Either way, she's made immense progress in just one week..._

As if on cue, Ino produced a burst of speed to remove a particularly annoying clone from Tazuna's immediate vicinity. She then returned to her starting position besides Sasuke as the last water clone dissolved with a splash.

As the three ninja scanned their surroundings, the mist lifted briefly, revealing two figures standing on the other side of the bridge. Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"So... the fake hunter-nin _was_ in fact working for you, eh, Zabuza?"

The Mist nin ignored Kakashi, instead fixing his gaze on Sasuke.

"...the black haired kid overcame my water clones... he's improved a lot. Seems like we have a new rival, Haku..." he commented to his masked companion. Haku nodded, but his mask was directly turned towards Ino, disregarding the Uchiha boy. Zabuza took notice.

"You still think she's the greatest menace, hmm? She has undoubtedly improved, but..." he began.

"Show your face."

Zabuza blinked, then turned towards Ino. He noticed she was staring at Haku and his eyes narrowed.

"What?" he said. Ino regarded him with a stony gaze.

"Shut up. I'm not talking to you. You there," she said pointing to the masked ninja, "Haku, right? Show your face. I know you. No use hiding it."

Zabuza blinked again. The girl was not displaying any fear whatsoever, only annoyance. And her chakra had briefly acquired a creepy feeling. What _was _going on? He remembered those inhuman eyes that briefly met his in their first encounter and gritted his teeth. He'd been _afraid_ back then. He didn't like being afraid.

"Zabuza-san, should I...?" Haku inquired, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at his companion and shook his head.

"No. If she wants to see your face so much let _her_ come over and remove the mask herself. Otherwise, she will have to deal with it," he replied with a snort. Ino's lips thinned, and this time everyone on the bridge except Tazuna clearly perceived the shift in her chakra. Zabuza also noticed her eyes flash red for a moment before she closed them and crossed her arms on her chest.

"Remove it myself, you say...?" she said in a calm tone. She then slowly opened her eyes, staring directly at Haku. "That... can be arranged." Immediately afterwards, both Ino and Haku dashed towards each other.

Haku quickly drew two of his senbon and attempted to strike Ino with them as soon as he got within striking range, but the blonde genin shifted her weight backwards and swatted his arm aside, reaching for his mask with her free hand. The Mist nin hastily backed off, but found himself on the defensive as Ino suddenly sped up and closed in on him again, lashing out with a punch-kick combo which her opponent barely managed to parry. Then the two jumped back again.

As soon as Ino touched the ground, she started doing hand seals extremely fast. Haku's eyes narrowed under the mask as she hit an unfamiliar seal, then widened as she extended her palm and pooled a large amount of chakra on it, solidifying it into a small blue sphere.

_"Seikyuu: Monju no Jutsu!"_

Zabuza found himself blinking for the third time. He'd never even heard of such a technique... in fact, he always thought that solidifying chakra into a tangible object was impossible. But the girl before him had proven him wrong. Furthermore, she'd used a seal he never heard of or saw before, as well as what he was fairly sure was _not_ a genin-level technique.

Haku was having similar thoughts. He briefly wondered if the technique the genin had just used was responsible for the destruction he had witnessed three days earlier, and decided he didn't really _want_ to know what this jutsu could do. He immediately closed in on Ino and lashed out at her with his senbon, but the kunoichi parried. The two remained at a standstill, looking at each other.

"I'd rather not kill you, Ino-san," Haku said quietly, never letting his eyes stray from her, "but it appears to me that you're not willing to fall back, am I right?"

"You must be fond of stating the obvious," Ino replied in a sarcastic tone. Haku nodded with a sigh.

"I guessed as much. But my next attack will be too fast for you," he informed her. "Furthermore, I have two advantages over you..."

"Two advantages, huh...? Care to enlighten me?" Ino muttered in annoyance. This individual was far too confident for her liking.

"First, the water that was sprinkled all around us..." he replied, nodding towards the pools of liquid on the ground. "And second, I blocked your hand. Now, you can only defend yourself from my attacks."

With that, Haku started making seals... with one hand. Kakashi's eyes widened.

_One-handed seals? I never saw anything like it!_ the jounin thought, staring at the Mist nin. Haku completed his seals and tapped his foot on the ground.

_"HiJutsu Sensatsu Suishou!"_ Haku murmured. Around him and Ino, water suddenly rose and took the shape of hundreds of needles. Zabuza smirked as he watched. _Truly he didn't want to kill her?_ he thought.

Ino's eyes, however, merely narrowed in annoyance. As the water needles shot towards her, she held up her _monju_ and murmured something inaudible. A character appeared on the sphere as it shone.

Then Haku jumped back and the needles struck. Immediately, a loud hiss was heard, and the Mist nin looked at the zone his opponent had been in confusion. A large cloud of vapor rose from it, hiding everything from view.

Then, a mostly unharmed Ino emerged from the cloud. Blood seeped from cuts here and there, but other than that and the fact she was thoroughly drenched, she looked none the worse for wear.

She also looked extremely angry.

"You're really a handful, aren't you?" she hissed at the Mist nin, wiping blood from a scratch on her cheek. "You forced me to use that _monju_ to heat the air around my body to the point where it'd instantly turn that water into vapor... but now I wasted a _monju_, I'm drenched and I lost a chunk of my chakra. My favorite battle dress is ruined, my hair's a mess, I'm full of cuts and I'm really pissed off and _it's all your fault!_"

Ino's voice rose steadily as she spoke, eyes shut tightly and fists clenched. But at the final phrase, they shot open and both Haku and Zabuza took one step back, startled. And Zabuza finally realized he hadn't been seeing things during their first encounter.

Because Ino's eyes were, once again, yellow and red. And they burned with the fire of anger.

**1234567890**

(A/N: Done! This chapter took me longer than expected because I just couldn't write the scene quite the way I wanted to. Now, though... hehehe, the fun begins. Next chapter, expect some, WOW, Sasuke/Ino teamwork. Naruto also shows up, demons start acting up and this all comes to an explosive end as the Marsh nin reveal themselves!

Stay tuned for next chapter, and as usual, R&R! GH out.)


	12. Chapter 10: Bridge of Shattered Dreams, ...

(A/N: Here comes Chapter 10, kukuku! Thanks for all the reviews, as usual. Review answers first:

Obiki Doragon: Heh, Basara mode. Actually, what happened is that Ino lost control and went in a fit of insane rage. When this happens, she starts to instinctively draw on Basara's chakra, which is normally only available to her if Basara gives it to her... however, this mode is very dangerous, as Ino is not used to demonic chakra and is drawing it in an uncontrolled way, potentially causing damage to her own body.

Fenrir: The fic is Ino-centric, but now that the Marsh girls are there, you'll be seeing a whole lot more of Naruto in future chapters, as they have a pretty big plot point involving him. And yes, Naruto will improve quite a bit.

Dan Inverse: You'll find out their reaction pretty soon. Hehehe...

Kaara: I'm glad to know you like it. I hope this chapter gets your approval too. I'll have some character interaction soon, BTW.

Spyke the Hedgehog: Read and find out! Hehehe...

OK, done. Now we return to the fight between Team 7 and Zabuza. Last episode ended with Ino flipping out and going all creepy on Haku. Now we get to see the outcome of that burst of anger. Enjoy!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The character of Kazuki Maeda is a creation of The Wretched from GameFAQs. All other original characters are my creations.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**The Wretched** from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu, suggesting effects, character bios and a heck of a lot more... my single greatest contributor. Without you this fic would probably be a lot slower than it is, man;

**Hunter Sopko** from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality;

**TheHomelessGuy** and **TG Cloud** from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

**Tsukinosakura** and **RurouniGochan** from the RKDreams forums for more proofreading;

**Ice Dragon XXI** for EVEN MORE proofreading;

**Several other people** who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to **YOU** for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ are thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. 1**234567890** indicates a scene/perspective change. _Underlined locations in italics_ are a location change.)

**1234567890**

_**Chapter 10: Bridge of Shattered Dreams, Part 2**_

"Zabuza-san, what _is_ going on?" Haku asked his mentor as he stared at the blonde Leaf kunoichi standing before them. There was something very creepy about the aura she was giving off, and those eyes... they were unnatural. Human beings weren't supposed to have a predator's eyes, and the mad glint in them promised nothing but unpleasant things to the two men they were fixed on.

"I have no idea, Haku, but if I were you, I'd prepare to defend myself," the older ninja answered, never taking his own eyes off the girl. He got the distinct feeling that letting her out of his sight even for a second would have catastrophic consequences.

"...she feels completely different..." Haku murmured. "Is this the same girl I met in that glade? It can't be..."

"_Watch out...!_" Zabuza cried out suddenly. Haku snapped out of his reverie just in time to see Ino disappear.

Then all hell broke loose.

**1234567890**

"Sensei, what's happening to Ino?" Sasuke questioned, never taking his eyes off his blonde teammate. "She's moving like an assassin again... just like when she fought you. What is this...?"

Kakashi regarded Sasuke briefly before returning his gaze upon Ino. He considered what to tell the raven-haired boy. The truth? Out of the question. He was fairly sure Ino wouldn't appreciate, and even if she did, he got the distinct feeling it would somehow be a very bad idea. A lie? That was the only choice, but it had to be kept simple. He then remembered the excuse Ino had fed him after the bell test. _Yes, that will do_, he thought.

"Ino has split personality," he explained to Sasuke. "When she gets really angry, she flips out and completely changes her behavior. She also starts molding her chakra in an abnormal way. Her eye color change is a side effect of that."

"...I've never heard of such a thing happening," Sasuke commented, eyes narrowed. Kakashi shrugged.

"Neither did I, but the Yamanaka clan is peculiar... their mind jutsu are very weird even for a ninja. I'm not surprised to find out they have side effects." Kakashi then glared at Sasuke. "Keep your mouth shut about this. Ino would definitely not appreciate you blabbing about her business, and you _don't_ want to piss her off like this, do you?"

Sasuke shuddered in response. He wasn't easily frightened, but right now Ino scared him more than Zabuza did. He had no idea whether what Kakashi told him was true or not, but he decided the explanation was adequate. Knowing the truth wasn't worth the chance of getting mutilated.

"_Watch out...!_"

Zabuza's sudden cry drew Sasuke's attention again. He managed to catch Ino as she disappeared, then looked around in confusion, trying to find her, until he saw Zabuza lift his sword before him. An instant later, Ino reappeared before the missing-nin and punched the flat of the sword hard enough to make Zabuza take a few steps backwards. A dent was clearly visible in the blade.

Immediately afterwards, Haku joined the fight and a vicious hand-to-hand brawl broke out. Surprisingly enough, Ino managed to hold her own against both opponents at once, parrying, ducking and countering almost every blow sent her way. However, it was obvious that two on one was too much for her. Sasuke looked at her again, then reached a decision and without warning he charged at the masked boy, ignoring Kakashi's call to stand his ground.

The silver-haired jounin grimaced. This had gotten very out of hand very fast, and right now he could tell neither Sasuke nor Ino would obey an order to retreat from the fight. With a sigh, he reached for his headband and uncovered the Sharingan, concentrating on the combatants before him.

He might as well make the most out of this mess...

**1234567890**

Ino growled in frustration as she felt Zabuza's blade nick her again. She was fast enough to dodge any lethal blows, but with Haku distracting her she couldn't avoid all the attacks coming her way. Her nostrils flared as she felt herself growing even more angry. Her body was starting to feel unpleasantly hot too...

**Ino, stop it right now,** Basara called out to her, a note of worry in her voice. **You're drawing my chakra at too fast a rate, and I can't dose it to keep it from harming you. What you're doing is too dangerous!**

The genin completely ignored the demon. Right now, there was little room for rational thought in her mind. Her priority was to kill the little twerp and mummy man she was fighting. She could worry about the consequences after beating them in the ground.

As she lashed out at Zabuza again, she noticed a black blur at her side. Turning her head slightly, she saw that Sasuke had attacked Haku and was keeping him at bay. She felt a mixture of relief and annoyance. Sure, she was happy there was one less distraction for her, but these were _her_ prey, and she frowned upon anyone stealing them from her.

With a shrug, she decided she'd deal with this later. Her gaze returned on Zabuza, who by now was starting to look a little concerned. A feral grin slowly spread over her lips.

"Looks like your pal found a new playmate," she purred. "Now, let's have some _fun_ all by ourselves, shall we? Don't worry, this won't hurt... not for long, at any rate."

_Shit_, Zabuza thought. He was fairly sure he was in trouble now.

**1234567890**

As Naruto approached the bridge, he felt a huge chakra flare. The feeling was oddly familiar, and he felt something shift deep inside him in response. Frowning, he sped up, hurrying to the battlefield. He had a bad feeling about this...

**1234567890**

Haku rebounded from his last attack, panting. The black-haired boy before him was good, he had to admit that. He actually matched his speed, and the Mist nin got the distinct impression he could actually be faster.

With a sigh, Haku straightened up. He'd rather not have had to use this technique, but it was unlikely he'd win without it.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw Haku stand straight. The Mist nin's spirit had become very cold, and Sasuke felt his hair stand on the back of his neck.

_What's going on?_ he thought. _He's doing something..._

Sasuke tensed up as Haku made a weird hand seal. Then the Mist nin spoke.

"_HiJutsu, Makyou HyouShou!_"

A cracking sound suddenly filled the air and the Uchiha boy stared incredulously as a set of large ice blocks rose from the ground, surrounding him.

As Team 7 watched in confusion, Haku took one step forward and vanished inside the ice block closest to him. Then, the blocks cleared, taking on a mirror-like appearance, and reflections of Haku appeared in each of them.

"Get ready," Haku warned the black-haired genin from the mirrors. "I'll now show you my true speed."

**1234567890**

_What the hell is that?_ Ino thought, glaring at the ice mirrors. She suddenly changed her direction, dashing towards them. However, Zabuza immediately intercepted her, blocking her path.

"I'm your opponent, kid," he warned her, pleased that Haku had finally decided to get serious. "Now that Haku used that jutsu, there's no hope for your friend. Give up."

"...you're in my way. Move!" Ino snorted, her anger flaring again. Her chest was starting to burn now, and the unpleasant sensation did nothing to improve her mood.

**Ino, I'm warning you,** Basara urgently said.** The pain you're feeling is coming from my demonic chakra overstraining your body. If you keep this up, you'll kill yourself, or at the very least damage your chakra pathways so much you'll never be able to fight again.**

This time Basara's warning registered with Ino, who growled in frustration as she let most of the chakra she'd drawn vanish. Just then, Kakashi appeared at her side, never taking his eyes off Zabuza.

"Ino, go to Tazuna and guard him," he ordered her in a no-nonsense tone. He had noticed the blonde moved more and more sluggishly as time went on, and seemed to be in pain as well.

"But sensei...!" Ino protested weakly. While rationally she knew it was the best thing to do, she still felt the urge to violently kill somebody to let off some steam.

"No buts," Kakashi replied in a stern voice, pushing her backwards with one hand. "Do what I say. Now."

A scream coming from the ice mirrors cut any response Ino might have had. She looked in that direction to see Sasuke being pierced by senbon coming from all directions, blood spattering on the ground.

"Sasuke!" she shouted in horror. Without a second thought she sidestepped, drew a kunai and threw it at the closest mirror she could see Haku in. To her surprise, the masked boy reached out of one mirror and snatched the kunai in midair.

"What the...!" she muttered. "He caught it?"

Just then, a shuriken flew towards Haku's outstretched form, aiming for his face. The Mist nin barely managed to react fast enough to avoid having it imbedded in his skull, but the blow was enough to make him lose balance and fall out of his mirror. An explosion and a cloud of smoke followed. The barrage of senbon inside the mirrors stopped.

"Took you long enough, dead last," Sasuke muttered weakly from where he was on the ground, wiping blood from his eyes. Ino sighed in relief. Now she felt a little safer. She smirked as a boisterous voice came from the clearing smoke, from which a familiar orange-clad shape emerged.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Here I am!"

Naruto had finally joined the battle.

**1234567890**

The Marsh kunoichi had stopped at the edge of the forest and were now watching the unfolding battle intently. However, Naruto was no longer the focus of their attention.

"That blonde girl over there, she was the source of that chakra, was she not?" Kagura asked to her sensei, who was also observing Ino. Rin nodded.

"Yes, and the chakra was definityely demonic in nature," she confirmed with a peculiar look on her face. "It is strange, though... I was told that Kyuubi-sama was sealed in a single vessel, and that vessel was Uzumaki-sama... so why do I feel our Lord's chakra coming from that girl?"

The other three kunoichi blinked, staring at her.

"What...?" Jun asked. "You mean there's _two_ vessels containing Kyuubi-sama?"

"No... the vessel is definitely Uzumaki-sama," Rin said, shaking her head. "However, that girl undoubtedly has the same chakra as Kyuubi-sama. It's odd... somehow, she possesses our Lord's power. But I don't think she can control it."

"Agreed," Kagura nodded. "That kunoichi looks tired and moves as if she is in pain. I believe her body is not used to out Lord's chakra flowing through it. Regardless of how she came to possess this chakra, it is a recent event. Still..."

"...we should keep an eye on her as well," Maki finished for her. "Even if it's only a fraction of it, the fact remains she's been blessed with our Lord's power. Thus, it's our duty to serve her as we would Uzumaki-sama."

"Indeed," Rin nodded in finality. "Now, let us observe. And if need be, we shall spring in action."

With those words, the four kunoichi fell silent, watching the battle unfold.

**1234567890**

Naruto gritted his teeth in pain. He was beginning to think tht entering those strange mirrors hadn't been such a good idea, after all.

"Damn it!" he screamed in rage as another set of senbon pierced his skin. "Nothing seems to work! Brute force won't shatter them, fire won't melt them... how do we get out of these oversized ice cubes?"

"It's all your fault, dead last," Sasuke pointed out in an uncharacteristically acid tone. He was faring even worse than Naruto, as he had several senbon popping out of various body parts. "Had you not _stupidly walked into a deathtrap_, we would have been able to at least do _something_ by attacking from both inside and outside. But you _had_ to mess up."

"Shut up, bastard," Naruto hissed in return. "You weren't faring too hot before I came here either, did't you?"

"You should just give up," Haku advised them from one of the mirrors. "This is a transportation technique based on the reflections of these mirrors, which can only reflect my image... compared to my speed, you look like you're standing still."

"...Dammit. So what?" Naruto replied in a growl. "I can't stop here. I've got a dream to fulfill!"

_A dream... huh?_ Haku thought for a few moments. Then he spoke again.

"...I find it hard to adopt a ninja's mindset. If at all possible, I'd rather avoid having to kill you or being killed by you," he sighed in a weary tone. His voice then hardened. "But if you keep on fighting me, I'll stomp my feelings down and become a true ninja. This bridge is a battlefield... tying different dreams together.

"I have my dream, and you have yours. Even that girl has her own dream," he continued, sparing a glance towards Ino. He sighed again. "Do not hold a grudge towards me. I want to protect someone who's very precious to me. For this person I work, for this person I fight, this person's wishes I want to fulfill. This is my dream."

The air around the mirrors darkened as Haku looked down. "And in the name of this dream... I could become merciless, and kill you."

**1234567890**

For a long time everybody was silent. Then a voice pierced this silence.

"...dreams... hahaha," Ino chuckled sadly. "So that's what it's all coming about. One dream against another... with no middle ground to come to terms."

She looked sadly at Haku. "Regardless of how this ends, someone's dreams will be crushed today. There's no other way," she continued in a whisper. "This bridge, perhaps it'll be cursed... a bridge of shattered dreams..."

Ino's eyes hardened. "Naruto, Sasuke. Whatever happens... you must not lose against that boy!" she called out.

"Ino, don't incite them," Kakashi interrupted her, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Even if there was some way to neutralize that technique, those two could never beat that boy."

"Oh? And why is that?" Ino replied in an annoyed tone. Zabuza started chuckling.

"I'll answer you, young lady," the missing-nin said with a smirk. "Those two... they don't yet have the ability to suppress their feelings and kill someone in cold blood. Haku knows the true essence of being a ninja, and suffers for it. A pacific village like you cannot yield true ninja... because they'll fail to experience the fundamental step of killing in battle."

"And yet, I could have killed you moments ago," Ino pointed out. Zabuza nodded.

"But you're different. You just let your extreme anger overwhelm your feelings. You wanted to kill us the way a wounded beast wishes to tear its attacker apart," Zabuza replied. He then laughed again. "From that point of view... you're more of a demon than I am."

"...you have no idea, believe me," was Ino's almost inaudible reply. Zabuza blinked, but before he could ask anything Kakashi interrupted him.

"I'm sorry to butt in on this interesting clash of beliefs, but I'm afraid I have to end this quickly," he said, falling in a battle stance. Zabuza laughed again.

"Ah, yes, the Sharingan..." he said. "You're boring, Kakashi. Oh, and allow me to steal a quote from you. 'I'm warning you... the same technique doesn't work twice on me.'"

"...!" Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he tensed up, his Sharingan fixed on his opponent.

"I already figured out how that ridiculous eye works," Zabuza continued. "During our first fight, I didn't just take your hits like a dumbass. I had Haku observe you. He's very intelligent, you know. In general, all he has to do is see a technique once and he can elaborate a counter for it..."

Zabuza suddenly vanished as a very thick mist rolled in. Kakashi looked around.

"Ino, protect Tazuna-san!" he called out. Ino nodded.

"Tazuna-san, stay near me. Our enemy appears to be in pretty good shape," she said, drawing a kunai. "Still... Zabuza, can you hear me?"

'Kukukukuku, of course,' was the reply. Ino's eyes narrowed.

"Good, then let me warn you. Come within striking distance of me... and I'll kill you."

There was complete silence for a while, then Zabuza's voice rode the mist again. There was a hint of respect in it.

'Understood. I'll be careful. But you should worry more about yourself...'

"Whatever," the blonde snorted. She then fell into a defensive stance, scanning her surroundings with her senses stretched to the limit. For the time being, she had to trust Kakashi-sensei and let him handle Zabuza.

But she'd be dead and damned before she let him harm Tazuna. This time, she could not afford to lose.

**1234567890**

_This fog is too thick_, Kakashi thought as he futilely tried to pinpoint Zabuza's position from his voice. _Not even Zabuza should be able to see something..._

The sound of something flying caught his attention and he turned around in a flash, deflecting several shuriken aimed at him. Immediately afterwards, he felt Zabuza's voice coming from behind him.

"Impressive, Kakashi. Your reputation as a ninja is well earned," the Mist nin whispered. Kakashi turned around again and raised an eyebrow. Zabuza's eyes were closed.

"The next time you see me, it'll be the moment of your death," the missing-nin warned the silver-haired jounin. "You rely too much on the Sharingan. But in this mist, your Sharingan won't work. Clairvoyance and hypnosis... the basics of the Sharingan. But this thick mist makes me invisible, disabling your clairvoyance... and with my eyes closed, you can't use your hypnosis either."

"You won't be able to see anything, either," Kakashi pointed out. Zabuza chuckled as he vanished in the mist again.

'Did you forget already, Kakashi?' Zabuza's voice echoed from all directions. 'I'm the master of silent murder, and can hit my target based on sound alone.'

_Damn it, it's been a long time since I was in such an unfavorable situation_, Kakashi thought. _I'm worried about Sasuke and Naruto too... no, I must stay calm. Where'll he aim next?_

Suddenly, Kakashi picked something up. His eyes widening, he turned around.

_No... Tazuna!_

**1234567890**

Tazuna watched the young kunoichi near him, perplexed. She was keeping her eyes closed and looked like she was sleeping on her feet. While he understood that sight was useless in this mist, he felt it was a bit too hazardous to rely entirely on the other senses.

Suddenly, Ino stirred, then turned around and opened her eyes, looking directly behind him.

"Wrong move, dumbass," she growled before hurling three consecutive kunai at her target. The weapons whizzed past Tazuna's head, and a moment later three clangs were heard. Turning around, Tazuna saw Zabuza with his sword raised before him, the kunai clattering at his feet.

Zabuza lunged at Tazuna. Ino moved to anticipate him, but a sharp burning in her chest caused her to stumble mid-step. Her eyes widened. She wouldn't make it in time...!

Zabuza's blade fell. Blood spattered the ground. A grunt of pain was heard.

**1234567890**

Inside the mirrors, Sasuke and Naruto were hunched over, panting. Several senbon stuck out of their bodies, and blood slowly dripped to the ground. Haku observed them, impressed.

_That black-haired boy named Sasuke is impressive_, he thought. _He dodges every mortal blow I throw at him at the last possible moment..._

He stared at the Uchiha, who was glaring at him from the ground.

"You... move extremely fast," Haku said slowly, preparing two more senbon. "But with my next attack I'll stop you."

Sasuke said nothing and kept glaring at him intensely, eyes wide open.

_He's about to strike_, he thought. _Relax... concentrate... and anticipate him!_

His eye further widened. Suddenly, everything clicked in place. With a quick movement, he dashed towards Naruto, grabbed him and dived to the side just as Haku hurled his senbon. The mist nin's attack missed completely.

_What...?_ Haku thought in shock, watching the two boys. _He... completely anticipated me... wait, what is that?_

As Sasuke slowly got up, he once again stared at Haku. Inside his now-crimson eyes, three dots had appeared - two in the right one and one in the left. And they were slowly spinning.

The Sharingan.

"I see," Haku commented. "You too possess a bloodline skill."

Inwardly, he was amazed. _His ability is still incomplete_, he thought, _but he unlocked it during battle. If this is real, then I can't fight him for long. My technique consumes a lot of chakra, and even I can't keep this speed up forever._

Haku prepared more senbon.

"The more this fight goes on, the more my movements are predictable," he said, looking at Sasuke. "Your eyes are already overcoming my technique, so..."

Without warning, Haku darted out of the mirrors... and rushed straight at Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened.

_What...? He's aiming at Naruto! I..._ Sasuke only hesitated for a heartbeat, then dashed towards his blonde teammate.

_...I must save him!_

**1234567890**

"Uh..." Kakashi groaned, holding his chest. A large gash ran across it. Ino looked at it, horrified.

"Ka... Kakashi-sensei!" she screamed. Zabuza smirked.

"Your defense was faulty, Kakashi," Zabuza taunted. Your desire to help these brats clouded your reflexes. Even with that extraordinary eye of yours, you're too slow to follow my movements."

Zabuza shifted his sword behind his back, crouching in an offensive stance.

"Hehehe... I want to have some more fun, Kakashi," the Mist nin chuckled. "I'll gleefully take revenge on you... don't worry about the kids. Haku is probably killing them by now... I'll send you to Hell with them... down there, you'll have all the time in the world to regret being so weak."

"Shut up, eyebrowless freak," Ino said through clenched teeth. "Sasuke and Naruto won't be defeated so easily by that kid. Yes, Haku is strong... but Sasuke is still an Uchiha, and Naruto is much stronger than people think. I... have faith in them."

"An Uchiha, eh... so he's the heir of that tragic clan. That's why he's gotten better so fast," Zabuza mused before vanishing in the mist again. Once again, his voice echoed from the thick, white wall of fog.

'But it makes no difference for Haku. No one has ever escaped from his technique... no one.'

"He disappeared again..." Ino said, panting slightly. Kakashi shot her a concerned look.

"Ino, are you all right?" he asked her. The blonde genin shook her head.

"I'll be fine, sensei. Leave Tazuna to me. I'll defend him even if it kills me," she nodded. She then grinned. "Though, I'd prefer if you kicked that arrogant man's ass before I keel over and die, if you don't mind..."

Kakashi smirked. Yes, Ino was destined for great things. His face then clouded over. _But only if I get us out of this mess alive..._

He dashed forward and stopped in the thickest of the fog. His eyes narrowed.

"Zabuza, are you listening to me?" he called out. "You think that I only survived this long thanks to my Sharingan... but I was once part of ANBU. I'll show you what kind of ninja I was in the past..."

He reached for a pouch in his vest and opened it, taking something out of it.

"This time, no copies..." he murmured. "I'll show you a personal technique. Prepare yourself!"

**1234567890**

Naruto slowly regained consciousness, groaning. He looked around and saw Haku lying on the ground a few steps away. He then noticed Sasuke standing by his side.

"Naruto, you're really a liability," the black-haired genin murmured weakly. Naruto looked at him.

"Sasuke...!" he grinned, relieved to see his teammate still alive. However, his relief promptly turned into horror as he saw the state Sasuke was in.

A handful of senbon stuck out of Sasuke's neck, and he was covered with deep cuts. He coughed and blood came out of his mouth. He slowly turned to look at Naruto and smiled weakly at his horrified expression.

"What's that face... idiot...?"

Naruto just stared at him incredulously. A single question echoed in his mind, and finally he voiced it.

"...why, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared ahead for a brief moment, then smirked.

"Heh... I hated you..." he murmured. Naruto gave him an angry look.

"Then why did you save me?" he asked. "Why did you sacrifice yourself for me? _What the hell were you thinking?_"

"...how should I know?" Sasuke replied, coughing weakly. "My body... moved by itself."

With these words, Sasuke collapsed backwards. Naruto dived to catch him before he hit the ground and stared at him with a half-angry, half-confused expression. Sasuke looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"And to think I kept repeating to myself... that I couldn't die before killing my brother..." he whispered. He gave the blonde boy an intense stare. "Try not do die... Naruto."

Then he closed his eyes, and his body became very still. Naruto stared at him with a blank look. Meanwhile, Haku slowly got up.

"...He hit me, and died while defending you without hesitation," he said. "He acted even though he knew it was a trap, to protect someone dear to him. He was an admirable ninja."

As Haku straightened, he looked at Naruto's form, still hunched over Sasuke.

"Is this the first time you see a teammate die?" he asked while sinking back in his mirrors. "This is the destiny that awaits all ninja."

"...Shut up."

Haku raised an eyebrow behind the mask.

"I hated Sasuke, too..." Naruto murmured in a growl. "But I won't forgive you anway."

He looked up, and Haku tensed, his eyes widening.

"_Consider yourself dead!_" Narto snarled, a bestial expression twisting his face.

**1234567890**

"_Kkaaaaaaaahh!_"

Ino suddenly found herself on her knees, clutching at her chest. She felt as if something was burning her insides up, and the pain was so great she was barely able to think.

**That chakra, it's...!** Basara said in surprise. **Did the seal break? Not now! This body can't take much more...!**

_B... Basara... what is going on?_ Ino managed to ask from the haze of pain she was swimming in. _I feel as if... I'm burning up!_

**My chakra is reacting to the Kyuubi's,** the kitsune explained in a concerned tone. **It's taking over your body. But if this goes on much longer, we'll...!**

_Gah... I can't... stand it!_ Ino croaked. _Do... something... I'm afraid I can't... even stay... conscious..._

Another jolt of pain wracked Ino's body, and she felt herself fall in a spinning darkness.

**1234567890**

"That chakra...!" Jun whispered, eyes wide. "Is this... our Lord's power?"

"...so it appears," Kagura replied, her mask of control cracking as her lips twitched, cold sweat running down her face.

"It's... wrong..." Maki murmured. "Why? Has our Lord let his bitterness over our crime drown his true nature out?"

"...get ready to act," Rin suddenly ordered them. "This situation is becoming very dangerous. We... might have to subdue our Lord's vessel." She sighed. "...will our sins towards our Lord forever haunt us...?"

**1234567890**

Tazuna gave a concerned look at Ino. The blonde kunoichi had suddenly collapsed before him with a strangled cry of pain, and he was worried that she might have been attacked from somewhere.

The bridgemaker crouched and called out the girl's name. Receiving no response, he extended a hand towards her shoulder... and was startled as it was caught in a vice-like grip.

**Don't touch me, old man,** the kunoichi murmured in a strange songlike voice. Tazuna stared at a pair of yellow and red eyes and felt his skin crawl. He'd briefly seen those same eyes when Ino had attacked the two Mist ninja, but... there was something completely different about them now. If the eyes were the windows of the soul, then the soul behind those eyes... was not of this world.

Ino, or what Tazuna hoped was Ino, slowly and painfully got to her feet, groaning. Tazuna watched in amazement as the girl's hair color slowly turned from blond to white. She dusted herself, then grimaced as a stabbing pain lanced through her chest.

**This has to end now...** she said, frowning. **This body has reached its limit. Any longer than that and it'll be bedridden for at least a week, in the best case scenario. And in the worst...**

The kunoichi looked in the direction where Haku's ice mirrors were and her eyes narrowed.

**I have to stop _him_... **she murmured in a whisper so low it was inaudible, **or we'll both be lost. As long as _his_ chakra flows freely, mine will dominate this body... and consume it.**

She looked at Tazuna and gave him an apologetic smile. The bridgemaker relaxed. As creepy as this girl felt now, she didn't feel evil. He smiled back with a nod.

"Go. It is my fault if you're in this situation," the old man said. "I'll accept whatever fate chooses for me. Your teammates need you now... good luck."

**Thanks, old man,** the blonde nodded with a thankful smile. **Try to stay alive...**

With that, she darted away.

**1234567890**

_What's this chakra...? Zabuza? No, not him..._ Kakashi thought as he felt the waves of chakra from Naruto impact him. _I've felt this chakra in the past... impossible! The seal's breaking?_

Kakashi tensed, straining his senses, then relaxed.

_No, the seal's still in place. But I have to..._

The copy ninja was abruptly cut off by another surge of chakra. This new chakra was a lot less malevolent than the one he had first felt, but it was still powerful enough to make his hair stand on end. And judging by the direction, he could guess the source. Basara...

_There's no time left_, he thought as he twirled the scroll he had picked from his pocket in his fingers. _I have to finish this as fast as possible._

"Zabuza, can you hear me?" he said as he ran a finger over the gash in his chest and smeared blood across the scroll. "We're both busy, so how about we put an end to this charade and finish this?"

'Heh heh heh... impressive,' came Zabuza's voice from the mist. 'I'm curious. Show me what you can do!'

"As you wish..." Kakashi said, his eyes narrowing as he started performing hand seals.

**1234567890**

Haku stared in fascinated horror at the boy before him. The chakra around Naruto had torn the ground up and rapidly healed his wound, as well as given him a feral look. Moreover, it had pooled and changed shape... into what distinctly looked like a fox's head.

_What a repulsive chakra_, Haku thought. _It's filled with malevolence and killer intent... Is this the same boy as before?_

Naruto growled, then suddenly dashed at Haku, howling in rage. The Mist nin threw his senbon at the blonde boy, but they were swatted aside by a surge of chakra.

Haku decided to try a direct attack. He suddenly darted out of a mirror directly above Naruto and attempted to stab him. However, the boy felt him coming. reacting quickly, he slammed his hand on the ground and catapulted himself away, dodging Haku's attack with ease.

The young Mist ninja immediately realized his mistake. He immediately rebounded and headed for the closest mirror, but it was too late. The enraged Naruto caught up to him and grabbed his right arm in a deathgrip. He then howled in rage.

Wild chakra washed over the mirrors, cracking them. Haku felt his breath driven from his lungs. _I... can't!_ he thought. _I can't push his strength back!_

Haku could only stare in horror as Naruto reared back, fist tightened. He then let out an incoherent roar and punched him in the face with all his strength. It was all the Mist nin could do to twist his head to lessen the blow, but the impact still made his bones rattle and sent him careening headfirst into the closest ice mirror - and straight through it.

With Haku's concentration broken, the mirrors simultaneously shattered and fell to the ground in pieces. He slowly picked himself up from the floor and stood on unsteady feet. His mask cracked and fell apart, finally revealing his face.

Even bloodied, it was still very pretty.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he saw his opponent rise again, then charged madly at him, aiming to kill. Haku stood unmoving, eyes unfocused.

_Zabuza-san, I'm sorry_, he thought. _I can't compete with this boy..._

Haku closed his eyes and awaited oblivion. Naruto lashed out. The dull thud of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the air.

After a few instants, Haku opened his eyes, surprised to be still alive. What he saw caused him to gasp.

Before him, Ino had gripped Naruto's right hand in her left and stood between him and Haku, preventing the enraged genin from striking the long-haired boy. Haku blinked as he noticed that Ino's hair had turned completely white, then the abnormal chakra emanating from Ino finally registered in his mind. He blinked again. It was almost identical to the one Naruto had been emitting... only it didn't have that disgusting quality the blonde boy's had.

**Naruto, snap out of it!** he heard the girl shout at her companion. A roar was the only answer she got. She cursed under her breath. **Confound it all, he's too far gone. I have no choice. Forgive me, Naruto... I hope we both survive this.**

Gritting her teeth, the girl suddenly gathered a massive ampunt of chakra in her right hand. Haku noticed her wince as if in great pain. She then reared her fist back... and lashed out with all her strength.

**1234567890**

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_"

Kakashi slammed both hands on the ground as he unleashed his technique. From the mist, Zabuza's voice was heard again.

'Hahaha, your techniques are useless. My mist completely hides my presence from you,' he chuckled. 'I, on the other hand, can understand everything you do. Kakashi, my technique has overcome yours...'

Zabuza abruptly stopped talking as a howling sound was heard. Then, a series of loud growl and grunts pierced the air, coupled with the sounds of struggling.

When the sounds died down, the mist lifted, finally revealing Zabuza's figure. He was tied to the ground by several large ninja dogs, and glared crossly at Kakashi.

"If I can't find you by eye, I'll find you by smell," he said nonchalantly. "This is a summoning technique usually reserved for chases, but it worked on you because you kept your eyes shut in the mist. I purposefully blocked two of your attack so that the scent of my blood would linger on your weapons. From there, my faithful ninja dogs easily tracked you down with their noses."

Kakashi crouched down, a menacing aura radiating from him.

"You're the one who was overwhelmed by my technique," he murmured. "Now the fog has finally lifted. In your future... I see death."

"You see death in my future?" Zabuza replied disdainfully. "Your mind games tire me."

"Your death is all but assured, Zabuza. Just give up. Can't you see?" Kakashi continued. "Your ambition was limitless. After you betrayed the Mist country, your name was immediately distributed to all neighboring countries and villages, including Konoha. When the coup d'etat failed and the Mizukage's murder was foiled, you disappeared along with some of your underlings. I'm guessing that you then sided with scum like Gatoo to gather the necessary funds to escape the hunter-nin and prepare your revenge, right?"

Kakashi didn't wait for an answer and started doing hand seals, then crouched down and started pooling chakra in his hand. The sound of chirping birds filled the air as Kakashi's hand was enveloped by power.

the jounin looked up at Zabuza and opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by a surge of chakra followed by a booming sound in the direction Haku and the mirrors had been. Sparing one glance, he saw that the mirrors had been shattered and Ino had just punched Naruto extremely hard, sending him skidding across the bridge. The genin didn't get up again and the Kyuubi's chakra leaking from him finally died down. Kakashi sighed and turned to Zabuza again.

"It appears your sidekick has been defeated too, Zabuza," he said. "It is time to give up and accept your fate. I'll repeat it again... give up. In your future... I see death."

With those words, Kakashi charged.

**1234567890**

"Why did you save me?"

Basara blinked before turning towards Haku. The boy was standing straight, but the defeated expression in his eyes spoke volumes. The will to fight had completely left him.

**I didn't 'save you', boy. I saved myself,** the kitsune replied with a snort. **The fact that in doing so I saved your pretty little hide is just coincidence.**

Haku stared at her. _How strange, she's different_, he thought. _Not just in looks... her voice sounds completely different, her disposition has changed... and her chakra was much like that of the boy... ah, it doesn't matter anymore._

"...you should just have let him kill me," Haku told her. "After all, did I not kill your precious teammate?"

**...you what?** Basara replied, her eyes narrowing. She turned around and noticed the Uchiha boy's prone form. She quickly dashed up to it and crouched beside it, quickly checking its pulse and breathing. None.

She got up and stared at the Mist nin, then sighed.

**I... suppose it had to be expected,** she murmured quietly. **After all, when dreams clash, rarely does the conflict end without casualties. Still... I can neither forgive you nor blame you for your actions. After all...you were doing this all for your 'precious one', were you not?**

Haku nodded silently, surprised at the girl's reaction. He had expected many things, but not this.

"Are you... really Ino?" he asked. The kunoichi looked at him with an ironic smile.

**Do I feel or sound like Ino? She was knocked unconscious when Naruto released his 'inner demon',** she replied. **I am the part of Ino that no one ever sees... the demon lying deep within her soul. Call me Basara, if you will. That is the name I chose for myself.**

"...why are you telling me this?" Haku questioned. Basara shook her head.

**I can see the will to live and fight has left you, as you think you failed your 'precious person',** she replied.** If it is death you wish for, then the least I can do for you is be honest to you in your last minutes of life.**

"I... see."

**...you shouldn't be here talking to me,** Basara said, nodding towards the direction she came from. **Your precious one is in mortal danger. There is still one service you can offer him, if you're determined to pay for your failure with death.**

Haku turned to look and his eyes widened as he saw Kakashi stand before a tied-down Zabuza and charge the Raikiri. He instinctively took one step towards the two ninja, then looked at the blonde girl near him one last time. He smiled sadly.

"...I wish we had met under different circumstances. Perhaps, we could have become... friends..."

He then darted away, running to his destiny. Basara returned the same sad smile to the spot Haku had been at moments before.

**I wish it too, boy, **she murmured. **And even though you killed their teammate, I am sure that Naruto and Ino will feel that way too... eventually...**

Turning her back to the tragedy unfolding behind her, Basara walked towards the prone bodies of her two teammates.

**1234567890**

Kakashi ran straight at Zabuza, the Raikiri crackling on his hand. Closing in fast, he aimed for the heart. Just as he lashed out for the kill, an ice mirror appeared to his left and a figure darted out of it, getting between him and Zabuza at incredible speed. IUnable to stop his attack, Kakashi could only watch as his hand pierced Haku's chest, going cleanly through him and stopping millimeters away from Zabuza's body.

The long haired boy coughed, blood flowing from his mouth, and took hold of Kakashi's arm.

"Zabuza..." he whispered. The bandaged nin behind him stayed silent for a moment. He then smiled maliciously at Kakashi.

"So you saw death in my future?" he said in a mocking tone. "Kakashi, you were once again wrong."

**1234567890**

Naruto slowly regained consciousness, feeling something warm pressed on his forehead. Opening his eyes, he saw Ino stare down at him.

...wait, not Ino. Ino didn't have red eyes, or white hair, or pointy canines. Naruto suddenly bolted upright and scrambled backwards under Basara's amused gaze.

"Who... who are you?" he asked.

**I'm Basara, Ino's, ah... 'tenant', much like the Kyuubi for you. Pleased to meet you,** the kitsune replied. She smiled at him. ** Don't worry, Ino will explain everything once she wakes up. She was knocked unconscious when your chakra caused mine to surge. I'm cyurrently keeping my chakra flow to a bare minimum and using it to repair the damage I involuntarily caused to her body. Still, it may take a week before Ino is anywhere near fighting condition again.**

"Uh... pleased to meet you too," Naruto muttered, observing her wide eyed. Then his mind put the pieces together. "Wait, you mean Ino-chan is like me?"

**In a sense,** she replied. **I'll leave it up to her to explain everything. You'll have plenty of time to talk to each other.**

"I see... wait... Sasuke!" Naruto said, panicking. He looked around frantically until Basara pointed at the Uchiha's body. Naruto froze. "No... so it wasn't a nightmare..."

Naruto got up, his face hardening. "Where is that kid? He'll pay for this!"

**You're way too late for that, **she muttered, pointing back to Kakashi's position. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Haku stand before Zabuza, with Kakashi's hand shoved through his chest. "What..." he croaked.

**He was much like you,** Basara replied. **All he wanted was to make his precious one happy and be acknowledged by him. Zabuza was all he had... he'd have done anything for him. Even die... as he did.**

Naruto grew silent. Basara left him to his thoughts and walked over to Sasuke's body, kneeling down beside it. As she examined it again, something odd struck her. She carefully examined the points the senbon had pierced, growing more and more hopeful each second.

Perhaps... Haku's fundamental kindness had prevented him from completely killing his feelings. She stayed silent for now, but found herself fervently praying that she was right.

If nothing else, to spare Ino the pain of losing someone dear to her...

**1234567890**

Kakashi stood unmoving, his hand still plunged in Haku's chest.

_He got in the way to protect Zabuza..._ he thought. Behind the long haired boy, Zabuza chuckled.

"Well done, Haku," he murmured, a strange look in his eyes. He then quickly reached for his sword and swung it at Kakashi and Haku, intending to bisect them both. Kakashi instantly grabbed the boy's body and jumped back, out of Zabuza's reach. He then gently laid the young Mist nin on the ground.

"...you managed to move because Haku was dead," Zabuza said in a monotone.

Kakashi said nothing, but gently passed his hand over Haku's unblinking eyes, closing them. He then stared at Zabuza.

"What's wrong, Kakashi? Cat got your tongue?" the missing-nin smirked as he dashed at him. Kakashi didn't even get up and just lashed out at him with his foot, connecting with Zabuza's stomach. The other ninja gasped, his breath knocked out of his lungs. He fell to his knees, panting, and grunted as a kunai embedded itself in his left arm.

"Why...? Why can't I keep up with you?" he growled as he dashed at the jounin again, only to be stopped in his tracks by a backhanded blow. Zabuza screamed in frustration as he swung his sword again, but Kakashi was no longer where the sword was aimed at. A hand lightly grasped his shoulder from behind.

"Zabuza, right now you cannot beat me. Haven't you realized it yet?" Kakashi hissed from behind him, drawing two kunai. He quickly attempted to stab him in the back, but was forced to redirect his blow at the missing-nin's arm when he swung his sword at him in an attempt to kill him. The kunai pierced Zabuza's elbow, forcing him to drop his sword.

As Kakashi got up, he suddenly tensed as he felt four strong chakra signatures approach from the woods. Moments later, three figures landed on the bridge between the Leaf jounin and the Mist nin, while a fourth one landed in front of Zabuza and promptly tackled him to the ground, immobilizing the already-helpless ninja.

As the other three figures stood, Kakashi's noticed they were all women and had an unfamiliar symbol on their hitai-ate. His eyes narrowed. In his current condition, he'd probably be defeated should these four newcomers turn out to be enemies.

One of the three women closer to him, carrying a scythe and probably jounin level by the looks of her attire, stepped forward and bowed to Kakashi before addressing him.

"Greetings. You must be the famous Copy-Ninja of Konohagakure, Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan," she said in a courteous tone. "My name is Watanabe Rin, jounin of Sawagakure. These three young kunoichi," she continued motioning to the two girls behind her and the huge, bandaged, cloaked figure holding Zabuza down, "are my students. We were en route to your village for the upcoming Chuunin Exams, which our village will take part into for the first time this year, and noticed your... situation. We would rather not have interfered in matters of another village, but I felt that I had to warn you: you're about to have company, and not the welcome kind either."

Kakashi blinked. _Sawagakure? Never heard of it before,_ he thought before hearing the sound of many feet approaching from the end of the bridge. Turning around, he saw a large group of assorted goons and thugs staring at them with barely concealed bloodlust. The infamous Gatoo was leading them.

Gatoo took a few step forward and chuckled at Zabuza's immobilized form. The huge figure holding him down narrowed her eyes, but the depraved little man didn't notice.

"They kicked your ass, didn't they?" he mocked the exhausted missing-nin. "You really let me down, Zabuza."

"...what're you doing here, Gatoo?" zabuza hissed from his uncomfortable position on the ground. "And what are all those men for?"

"A small change of plans... or rather, a programmed one," Gatoo replied. "Zabuza, you'll die here."

"What...?"

**Wake up,** a familiar songlike voice came from the remaining mist. Basara stepped out of the fog, glaring crossly at Gatoo before shifting her eyes towards Zabuza again. **He never had any intention of paying you to begin with. A ninja hired formally from a village would cost way too much for that greedy maggot's taste, and could decide to betray him should he or she not like his plans. So he hired you missing-nin, expecting to easily manipulate you. And then, of course, he intended to save money by taking you out after your usefulness expired.**

"My, what an intelligent little lady," Gatoo chuckled. "How about working for me?"

**Silence, worm,** Basara replied in a terrifying tone, glaring at him with a killer look in her eyes. **You sicken me.**

"I guessed as much," the small man shrugged with a theatrical sigh. "Anyway, the pretty one was right about my plan. If there's a fault in it, it's you. The Demon of the Mist, indeed... you look more like an adorable harmless imp to me, Zabuza."

"In your condition, we can beat you, fool!" the men behind Gatoo screamed. Basara and Zabuza simultaneously snorted, then the kitsune addressed the huge kunoichi tying the missing-nin down.

**Let him up,** she commanded. The Marsh kunoichi blinked. Basara shot her an annoyed look. **I said, let him up, **she repeated. The cloaked girl looked at her team leader, who nodded, and released Zabuza. The missing-nin slowly struggled to his feet, then looked at Kakashi.

"Sorry, Kakashi," he said. "Our fight ends here. I have no more reason to kill Tazuna, so I have no reason to fight you either."

"I agree," the jounin nodded.

"I almost forgot,"Gatoo said, stepping towards Haku's dead body. He stopped near it and prodded it with his foot. "This kid owes me something. He nearly broke my arm..."

He kicked Haku in the face with a displeased grunt. "Tch," he snorted. "he's dead. Bah..."

**You...** Basara suddenly said, a terrible expression on her face. She took one step forward. **You don't deserve to live, maggot. I'll kill you where you stand!**

As she stepped towards Gatoo, Zabuza stood before her. "Back off, kid."

**You ask too much, ninja,** Basara shot back with a dark glare. Zabuza turned around, and she abruptly fell silent. Something was different in his eyes.

"I said back off," he muttered darkly, chewing on the bandages on his mouth with his teeth. "And give me a kunai."

Wordlessly, Basara handed him one of her kunai. Zabuza nodded to her.

"You and Haku were a lot like each other, kid," he said, staring at her. "He cared a lot... probably too much. He was too kind. And yet... I can also see a darkness in you." He chuckled darkly. "You... are probably more of a demon than I have ever been. And not figuratively, I'd wager."

**...forgive me, but I must ask that you say no more,** Basara interrupted him. **It's a... sensitive issue.**

Zabuza nodded, then gripped the offered kunai between his teeth. With one last look at Basara, he nodded, a grateful light in his eyes. Then, he turned around and aimed straight at Gatoo.

**1234567890**

The little man's eyes widened as he saw the missing-nin rush at him. Turning around, he yelled at his men to cover him and kill everyone, then hastily rushed behind them. The crowd eagerly surged towards the wounded ninja charging at them.

Gatoo smirked, confident in victory, safely behind his hired help. Then his smile froze on his lips as he saw Zabuza simply dash between his men, ignoring any blow they inflicted him. The light in his eyes paralyzed the greedy crime lord, who found himself unable to move. With a final dash, Zabuza plunged his kunai in Gatoo's chest.

The other man coughed, blood escaping his lips, and glared at Zabuza.

"If you want to join your companion so much, do it without me," he snarled. "Kill him!"

Three of the nearby men stabbed Zabuza in the back with their blades, but he ignored them, focusing instead of Gatoo.

"I have no intention of going where Haku is," he muttered. Gatoo snarled again.

"You intend to survive then? Nonsense!"

"No... I intend to drag you with me to Hell," he said, rearing his head back, kunai still gripped in his teeth. "Even the little devil of the Mist can become a true demon down there... you'll see firsthand if I'm the imp you claim me to be!"

With that, he reared back and in one swift slash ripped Gatoo's head off.

**1234567890**

Everybody watched the scene in silence, even Naruto who had joined the others. As Gatoo's headless body fell to the ground with a thud, his men shrank back from the glaring Zabuza, terrified even by his proximity. Then, the Mist nin toppled to the ground. The Marsh kunoichi watched in silence, until Rin stirred.

"Clear the rabble out," was her simple command. Gatoo's men tensed up as the three younger women took a few steps forward, then regained their cockiness.

"Hah! There's just seven of you, and three are beaten up! You don't scare us. And we're getting even with you for killing our money source!" one of them yelled. Naruto growled, then started doing hand seals.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" he yelled. Immediately, five more Narutos popped up. The crowd hesitated. Kakashi observed.

_Hm, I don't have enough chakra for a real Kage Bunshin, but maybe a bluff..._ he thought as he also did the seals. Immediately, at least 50 copies of Kakashi filled the bridge. The goons visibly swayed, doubt filling their eyes.

The final nail in the coffin was the sudden clamor coming from behind Naruto and his friends. Slowly, a large group of village denizens showed up, led by Inari. All of them carried some sort of weapon, and all of them looked dangerously pissed.

**...you were saying?** Basara smirked at Gatoo's posse. The thugs blinked, then turned around and ran for their lives. Rin snorted.

"Wimps."

**1234567890**

Kakashi crouched next to Zabuza, whose breathing was growing more shallow by the minute.

"Kakashi... is it all over, then?" the missing-nin coughed weakly. Kakashi nodded. Zabuza sighed.

"Kakashi, I have a favor to ask," he continued. "I... want to see his face."

"...understood." the jounin nodded, picking Zabuza up. He slowly walked to where Haku's body lied and set Zabuza down next to him.

As Zabuza looked at Haku, snow started to fall. Basara looked up at the sky.

**The heavens are crying,** she murmured. **They mourn the passing of this boy, and show their respect with this snow.** Kakashi nodded.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked. Basara was about to answer when a cry and a shout pierced the air.

"_SASUKE! YOU'RE ALIVE!_"

Kakashi blinked, then sighed in relief. So... at least one tragedy was avoided. Basara crouched next to Zabuza and smiled sadly.

**You were right. He was too kind,** she murmured. **But that is what made him special, no?**

"Yes..." Zabuza nodded, caressing Haku's cheek. "I know I have no right to ask this, but... if possible, I wish I could... be with him... even in death..."

And with those words, Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, exhaled his last.

**1234567890**

(A/N: Whew, done. This is probably my longest chapter yet. I hope you all like it, as a lot of work went into this... Until next chapter, R&R! And tell me how you liked my retelling! GH out.)


	13. Chapter 11: Aftermath

(A/N: All right, Chapter 11 is here! I finally received some constructive criticism from a couple of my reviewers, and they both make valid points which I'll address. So, review answer time:

Spyke the Hedgehog: Actually, if you look at that scene in the manga and pay attention, Sasuke has a total of three dots distributed between his eyes - two in the right one and a single one in the left one. I made especially sure to faithfully put this in my fic, and if you re-read the chapter, you'll notice it too. Thanks for your pointer, though - it was incorrect, but I greatly appreciate the fact you took time to draw attention to what you felt was an error. Thank you!

Stonebridge: Starting from this chapter, Naruto will get more screen time. A lot more, in fact. So no worries. Plus, Ino's sudden strength increase has consequences, which you'll discover in this chapter.

EfrainMan: Ino's far from having gone uber. You'll find in this chapter just how much all that power cost her. No pain, no gain...

Tessa Shelton: As I said, starting from this chapter Naruto will get some heavy screentime. He's the reason why the Marsh kunoichi are even entering the Exams, and... well, you'll see with this chapter. I hope you're still reading. If not... peace. I understand your viewpoint.

Cyberwing: Don't worry, I'll be careful. Besides, Ino can't exert this kind of power anytime. Against Haku and Zabuza she was out of control...

- -

Done! Now, back to the fic. We skip to one week after the Zabuza fight. How have our heroes recovered? What have they been up to? What about the Marsh kunoichi and Naruto? Find out! I hope you'll enjoy...)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The character of Kazuki Maeda is a creation of The Wretched from GameFAQs. All other original characters are my creations.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**The Wretched** from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu, suggesting effects, character bios and a heck of a lot more... my single greatest contributor. Without you this fic would probably be a lot slower than it is, man;

**Hunter Sopko** from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality;

**TheHomelessGuy** and **TG Cloud** from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

**Tsukinosakura** and **RurouniGochan** from the RKDreams forums for more proofreading;

**Ice Dragon XXI** for EVEN MORE proofreading;

**Several other people** who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to **YOU** for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ are thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. 1**234567890** indicates a scene/perspective change. _Underlined locations in italics_ are a location change.)

**1234567890**

_**Chapter 11: Aftermath**_

_One week later - somewhere_

"Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm... red blood flowing, precious blood dripping... crimson tears, crimson droplets, glorious blood staining the earth..."

Within a nearly empty room in an unidentified mansion, a strange one-eyed woman obsessively hummed this mantra-like tune. She wore dark red pants, a fishnet shirt, a dark red jacket with the kanji for the words 'Chi Itami' inscribed over her left breast and a hitai-ate with the Hidden Moon symbol engraved on it and a slash running horizontally across it on her forehead. Her long blonde hair cascaded on her shoulders, with occasional black streaks running through them. Her only eye, silver-colored, held a strange, insane light in it. A black cloak with a peculiar symbol on its back lied on the bed near her, one of the few pieces of furniture in the room along with a round table and two chairs.

The woman was currently busy lightly cutting her own arm with a kunai, letting her blood drop on the ground. However, the small pool of blood at her feet acted rather oddly: it shifted and rose as if it had a life of its own, taking various shapes and moving around in a decidedly creepy fashion. The woman didn't look particularly concerned by her bleeding, and instead happily stared at the pool formed by her own essence. A creepy aura enveloped the whole room. It reeked of madness.

The woman was brought out of her trance by an urgent knock on the door. Frowning, she tore her gaze away from the shifting blood and fixated her silvery stare on the room's entrance.

"Who's disturbing me during my playtime?" she inquired. "Come in, but it had better be a good reason, or you'll pay for the intrusion - with your blood."

The door opened, letting a strange tall man with blue skin and sharp teeth in. He wore a cloak nearly identical to that lying on the woman's bed, as well as a hitai-ate slashed in much the same fashion as the woman's, except it had the Hidden Mist symbol engraved on it. Slung across his back was a huge, long lump of... something, tightly wrapped in pieces of cloth. He wore a grin on his face, but there was an uneasy light in his eyes and the grin disappeared when he saw the state the woman was in. He swallowed hard.

"Uh... Akari-san, do you know where I could find Kazuki-san?" he asked, being very careful in his choice of words and keeping his tone neutral. The woman who stood before him was infamous among his companions for her sudden and violent mood swings, which made even their leader very cautious when dealing with her. Antagonizing her, even inadvertently, was not a wise idea.

"...Kazuki? How should I know?" Akari replied in an annoyed tone. "I'm not his babysitter. What do you want from him anyway, sharkface?"

"Our leader has a mission for your team. I'm here to relate his orders," the tall man replied, gritting his teeth at the insult. "And my name is Kisame, not 'sharkface'. Stop insulting me whenever you talk to me."

"That'd imply I actually respect you... which I don't. So deal with it, sharkface," Akari replied with a shrug. "Anyway, I have no idea where Kazuki is. Now leave. You're spoiling my mood. Let me revel in the blissful glory of blood..."

"That will be enough, Akari," a new voice came from the door. Kisame and Akari both looked at the newcomer. He was a tall man, though not as tall as Kisame, with black hair and black eyes. He too wore the same black cloak as Kisame, and his hitai-ate was also slashed and had the Hidden Marsh symbol engraved on it. He had a bland expression on his face as he regarded the crazy woman. "Kisame is also Akatsuki... try to at least get along with him."

Akari snorted as she glared at him, but didn't reply. Kisame took advantage of the temporary respite to address the newcomer. "Kazuki... I have your new orders."

The man called Kazuki just nodded and motioned for Kisame to sit down. The shark-man cast one last glance at the eerily beautiful woman sitting on the floor, who had resumed humming to herself, then shuddered and sat in the chair farthest away from her. Kazuki sat down as well. He patiently stared at Kisame, waiting for the blue-skinned man to talk.

"...All right... this is what our leader decided..." Kisame said. "Itachi-san and I are to go to the Hidden Leaf to keep track of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, and possibly snatch it away during or after the Chuunin Exams. As for you... it has been brought to our attention that the Hidden Marsh has sent a genin team to the Exams. Such an action after 400 years of isolation is unlikely to be mere coincidence. Therefore, our leader wishes for you and... Akari-san," he hesitated, sparing a glance to the apparently oblivious woman on the floor, "to keep an eye on that team. If they're up to something, you are to stop them. Understood?"

Kazuki nodded, and Kisame continued. "Furthermore, it appears that the Hidden Sand has struck a secret deal with the Hidden Sound, and they're apparently sending their Jinchuuriki alon with his teammates to enter the exam. We have no idea why, but our leader believes it may lead to hostile actions, or even an invasion of the Leaf. Should you hear anything about this, report it to us at once so that our teams can coordinate their actions. All right?"

Kazuki nodded again and Kisame sighed in relief. "Good. Now that we have our missions and an agreement, I'll take my leave and get ready to depart with Itachi-san. I suggest you do the same. We'll see each other in Konoha. Our leader's counting on you... Kazuki Maeda, Akari Hagiri."

With those words, Kisame got up and motioned to leave. As his hand grasped the doorknob, Akari's voice called out to him.

"Sharkface. I don't like the idea of working with you and the red-eyed freak, but what the boss says is what must be done," she said in a strange emotionless voice. "Still, I'm warning you. If you get in the way or otherwise slow me down, I'll feed you to Zenki and Goki." A creepy, malicious grin spread on the woman's beautiful face. "They've been curious about shark fin soup for a while now..."

Kisame hastily left the room, Akari's evil, maniacal laughter ringing in his ears.

_Wave Country_

Naruto peeked through the door to Ino's room, looking at his teammate's form lying on the bed. He frowned. _She's still unconscious..._ he thought as he quietly closed the door.

Ino had suddenly collapsed shortly after Zabuza had died. After a rapid scan, Kakashi deducted that her body had been badly overexerted and shut itself down to prevent fatal damage. They had carried her back to Tazuna's house, while Kakashi took Haku and Zabuza's bodies away to bury them in the woods.

In the following days, everyone had slowly recovered from the ordeal. Naruto was the first to fully recover, followed shortly by Kakashi. Sasuke was up and walking around after five days, though he still felt weak.

Ino... hadn't moved at all for the whole week.

Naruto scowled again. The doctor who had visited her said her breathing was strong and regular, and her body showed no signs of weakening. He was, however, unable to explain why she wasn't waking up, nor was he able to explain why a few strands of her blonde hair had turned white and weren't showing signs of reverting back.

Of course, Naruto had some ideas. It was probably because of Ino's 'tenant'. He mulled over what he had been told on the bridge again. In the last week, he had a lot on his mind, and those who knew him would have been surprised to see him in such a thoughtful mood. Then again, it wasn't every day that Naruto was told someone else shared his burden.

And then there were those Marsh women... Naruto blinked as he saw the tall, bandaged one waiting for him near the stairs. What was her name again? Miki... Muki... ah, yes, Maki.

Naruto once again wondered what was wrong with them. They had decided to wait and go to Konoha with Team 7, but the behavior they displayed was inexplicable. They addressed Kakashi and Sasuke as 'Hatake-san' and 'Uchiha-san' and were very polite to them. So far, normal enough.

But whenever they addressed him, they bowed respectfully and called him 'Uzumaki-sama', acting as if he outranked both his teammates. And they took things he said very, very seriously. One time he complained about wanting ramen and the fact there weren't any in Tazuna's house. Less than three minutes later, there had been a discreet knock on the door of his room, and when he opened it he had found a bowl of fresh, steaming pork ramen lying in front of it. Looking around, he had spotted the girl in kimono, Kagura, who had graciously nodded at him before disappearing downstairs.

Naruto felt himself torn. On one hand, he found the way the three girls and their sensei stalked him a bit creepy. On the other hand, though, he had to admit that this was like a dream come true to him.Those girls were actually paying attention to him, and weren't treating him like a monster. Now if only he could find out why...

As he approached Maki, the huge Marsh kunoichi bowed to him. He eyed her with sympathy. He'd been told about her condition and her cursed Bloodline Limit. The Byoujou of the Yamazaki clan made it impossible for them to be killed by poison or sickness, but it also prevented them from being healed by treatments, turning them into lethal poison and disease carriers. Even being too close to an unprotected Yamazaki clan member could be fatal. Naruto couldn't begin to imagine even being that sick, let alone having no hope of ever getting well. He also admired her for suffering in silence. He felt as if he'd found a kindred soul.

"Uzumaki-sama, how is your companion?" she inquired. Naruto shook his head and she grimaced. "Still unconscious, huh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"There's nothing you can do about it, Maki-chan," he replied. She was the only one of the Marsh foursome he dared address in an informal way: while Maki was admittedly the most physically intimidating of the four kunoichi, she had proved to have a surprisingly gentle nature under her rough, imposing exterior. "No need to apologize for something you have no control over."

The kunoichi nodded, then hesitated, looking at him. Naruto gave her a curious glance. He'd never seen her hesitate in the brief period he'd known her. Suddenly, a bad feeling crept up to him.

"Uzumaki-sama, my sensei and my teammates wish to speak with you - privately," she finally said. "Will you do us the honor of joining us in the forest glade?"

"Uh... sure," Naruto replied, blinking. While he wasn't the brightest bulb in the house, he was fairly sure it had to be something serious if they wanted to be away from prying eyes and ears. Maki nodded at him, then motioned him to follow.

As they reached the living room's entrance, Kakashi looked up from the issue of _Icha Icha Paradise_ he was reading. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the forest glade, Hatake-san," was Maki's answer. "Rin-sensei wishes to privately speak with Uzumaki-sama. ...I advise against trying to eavesdrop, Hatake-san. Sensei would be... displeased."

Kakashi nodded. While the Marsh jounin had been polite enough in these days, she emanated an aura of repressed danger that gave him cold shivers. He had no wish of antagonizing her, and besides, in these seven days the four kunoichi had been almost overprotective towards Naruto. He deemed it extremely unlikely they had any ill intentions towards him. He'd have lied if he said he wasn't curious about what they wanted to tell him, but he figured he could always hear it from Naruto later.

As the two genin left, Kakashi lowered his book and sighed, his eye becoming vacant.

How long had it been since he heard that name?

_Rin..._

**1234567890**

"They're coming," Kagura announced, not looking up from the water she was boiling on a small fire. Rin and Jun nodded in acknowledgement. They had refused to check in the village's inn, preferring to camp out in the wilderness. When asked why, they had explained that the air in this country was very different from the marsh's heavy, barely breathable atmosphere. There'd be plenty of time to stay cooped up indoors later, they figured, so they wanted to breathe in as much of that fresh air as possible.

As Kagura finished preparing tea, Maki and Naruto popped out of the trees to their left and walked up to the fire. Jun nodded at the blonde boy with a grin. "Sit down, Uzumaki-sama. You're not going to stand there all day, eh? Besides, this might take a while."

With a nod, Naruto sat down on a clump of soft grass. He looked around. This glade, he was told, was the same one Ino had trained in. The signs of devastation left by her were still visible, as the grass was burned or dying in several places and broken tree stumps could be spotted in the area.

With graceful and efficient motions, Kagura poured the tea she had been preparing in five wooden cups they had bought in the village days earlier. She set the kettle she had used on a patch of grassless ground, then sat down herself. They all sipped the tea in silence before Rin addressed Naruto.

"Uzumaki-sama, I am sure you have been wondering why we have been acting this way towards you in the past week," she said, setting her cup down near her. "In order to explain the reason, we feel that a short history lesson is needed."

Naruto blinked, but said nothing. He had a feeling that what Rin was going to say would be extremely important, and decided now was not the time to be loud.

"I assume that you have been taught about the rampage Kyuubi no Youko went on twelve years ago during your history classes, yes?" she asked. Upon seeing Naruto nod, she continued. "It was said that the great demon fox hated mankind and wanted to wipe all humans off the face of the Earth. He was described as a malicious, merciless entity who took glee in the misery of others...

"But what if he actually had a reason to so intensely hate humans? What if they had wronged him? Have you ever paused to think that perhaps there was more to it than just a bloodthirsty demon burning and killing all that stood in his path?"

Naruto felt his heart rate suddenly pick up. The kunoichi before him was speaking in a serious, sad tone, as if she felt guilty about something. He briefly wondered if he'd be able to look at these four women the same way after they finished talking. It was obvious even to him that what they were telling him was something all of them deeply regretted, regardless of age and personal involvement.

"The reason, as much as it shames me to admit it... was us, the Marsh ninja," Rin continued in a bitter tone. "You see, Uzumaki-sama... Kyuubi-sama, the very same Kyuubi no Youko that almost destroyed your village... was once the protector god of Sawagakure."

Rin fell silent and Naruto blinked. The demon that killed thousands... a _protector god_? This didn't sound at all like what he'd been taught. He paid even more attention to the jounin's words.

"Do you know how a summoning is made, Uzumaki-sama?" Rin resumed. "First, one needs to sign a contract with the creature he or she wishes to summon. In order for the contract to be valid, it must be signed with the summoner's blood. Afterwards, one uses his or her lifeforce as a catalyst to open a door between dimensions, allowing the creature to enter our world. After performing whatever task the summoner asks of it, the summoned creature is then sent back to its home dimension.

"We of the Marsh... always enjoyed a relative prosperity thanks to Kyuubi-sama protecting us. But we grew too arrogant. We were not content with paying our Lord respect from afar. No, we wanted to set our unworthy eyes upon his magnificent form."

Rin smiled sadly at him, shame on her face. "Can you imagine it? A bunch of insignificant mortals, wanting to force their god to show himself before them? It is no wonder that everything went wrong."

Naruto remained silent, listening intently. Within him, he felt something stir. He briefly wondered if the fox could also hear those words before returning to Rin's story.

"The Elder council, just as blinded by pride and arrogance as the common folks, approved the motion, despite the Onikage's opposition," she continued. "It was decided to perform a summoning ritual to call Kyuubi-sama in this world. However... there was no such thing as a summoning contract with foxes. Ignoring common sense, the elders decided to attempt a contract-less ritual.

"The results were catastrophic. Kyuubi-sama's spirit was far too great to anchor it to this world without massive amounts of lifeforce. Most of the summoners died bringing him to this plane of existence. Those who survived..."

Rin fell silent again, and Naruto got the dreadful feeling of knowing what would happen next. Yet, he remained quiet.

"...those who survived," Rin resumed, shame etched on her face, "discovered that by drawing Kyuubi-sama in our world without a contract, they had trapped him in it. Forever. There was no way for us to send him back."

Naruto froze, realization dawning in him. So _that_ was why the Kyuubi had gone on that murderous killing spree! Naruto tried to imagine how it would feel to be ripped from his home and thrust into another world, with no way back and no familiar faces around himself. He failed miserably.

"Needless to say, Kyuubi-sama's anger was dreadful. He lost all rational thought and went on a bloody vengeance-fueled rampage, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake," Rin continued after a while. "Eventually, he was stopped and defeated by Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Still, it had been our arrogance that led to our god's downfall and the massacre that followed. We felt we had to atone.

"We knew that there was no way Yondaime could have slain Kyuubi-sama, so we started gathering information in an attempt to locate our Lord's whereabouts. We eventually discovered what fate befell Kyuubi-sama."

Rin looked directly at Naruto.

"We discovered he was sealed in you, and you had become our god's earthly incarnation," she concluded, giving him a serious look. "Thus, we set out to find you and ensure that you'd b kept safe and given the proper respect you deserve. That is all..."

Naruto stared in disbelief. These girls were respecting him for the _very same reason _everyone else despised him? He was having a hard time believing it.

"We realize you are your own person and not merely a container to Kyuubi-sama's spirit and power, Uzumaki-sama," Kagura spoke up, as if she'd read his thoughts. "However, the fact remains that, due to our elders' foolishness, your life was made into a living hell without you having any choice about that. We, as Sawagakure kunoichi, wish to atone for our sins by righting as many of the wrongdoings our careless behavior gave birth to as possible. Hence why we wish to protect and serve you. Your being our Lord's vessel is a part of it, but not all of it."

Naruto nodded, a weak smile on his face. He then got up and wandered away.

"I need to think for a bit, if you don't mind," he explained as he approached the edge of the glade. "It's all... a bit too much for me. I'll need some time to myself..."

"We understand," Maki nodded. "We'll wait for you to come to us, then. Take as much time as you need."

"Thanks, Maki-chan," Naruto replied with a more genuine smile. However, before he could leave, Rin stopped him by raising a hand.

"Hold, Uzumaki-sama," she said. "Before you go, there's something important you might want to know about Yamanaka-san."

"About Ino...?" Naruto blinked in confusion. What could she possibly have to do with this?

"Yes," Kagura nodded. "While you were fighting against Momochi Zabuza on the bridge, Yamanaka-san started radiating an abnormal chakra, and her moves changed completely. That chakra..."

"...is just like Kyuubi-sama's, though not as malevolent." Jun finished. "You might want to talk to her about it, Uzumaki-sama. It could be very important."

"Ino... has Kyuubi's chakra?" Naruto muttered. "That's impossible... I should be the container..."

"You are," Rin confirmed. "Still, the chakra we felt cannot be mistaken. It wasn't human chakra at all. And it felt almost identical to yours when you were going berserk."

"I see... it must have something to do with Basara, then," he said more to himself than to anyone else. Rin blinked.

"...Basara?" she asked, confused. "What does a Shikigami have to do with this?"

"Shikigami...?" Naruto replied, just as confused. "I don't know what you're talking about. See, what happened on the bridge is..."

He proceeded to quickly sum up his meeting with Ino's other self to the four women. He particularly mentioned how she felt like an entirely different person, and admitted he had no clue who or what she was. After he finished, the four kunoichi quietly looked at each other.

"What you are telling us is very odd, Uzumaki-sama," Kagura finally spoke. "You see, 'Basara' is the name of one of the Shikigami, minor godlike beings who often take animal shape. That particular Shikigami is also known as 'The Executioner', and is said to sweep through the battlefield, seeking any worthy opponent and defeating them. In a sense, it is an incarnation of destruction."

"However, Shikigami can't take people over," Rin added. "Or rather, I have never heard of such a thing happening, and believe me... I have access to _a lot_ of past information. Furthermore, a Shikigami wouldn't possess demonic chakra. They are closer to _majuu_ than to _youko_."

"_Majuu_...?" Naruto asked, curious.

"The great magical beasts of legend," Kagura explained. "Like the guardian of Hell's Door, Kerberos."

"Oh!" the blonde genin nodded in understanding. He remembered reading stories about the great beasts in the rare occasions when he went to the village library, usually to hide from all the hateful stares when they became too much.

"Hey, this is just a thought, but..." Maki suddenly spoke up. "What if this 'Basara' is a part of Kyuubi-sama's soul that somehow broke off from the main spirit and escaped the seal?"

Everyone was still for several moments. That was a rather strange theory, but in its odd way, it made sense. The other three kunoichi slowly nodded.

"Huh, it's a possibility," Jun saiid. "We don't really know how demons' spirits work, after all. Such a thing might very well be possible, especially with powerful demons. And Kyuubi-sama is _very_ powerful."

"Well, there is only one way to find out for certain," Rin concluded, looking at Naruto. "Uzumaki-sama, would you please talk about this with Yamanaka-san once she recovers from her state?"

Naruto nodded immediately. He was curious himself, and besides that, if what this 'Basara' had told him on the bridge was true, he just couldn't wait to talk with Ino-chan about the situation. He grinned happily. To freely talk about his secret with someone his own age and not have them run in terror... the mere idea felt so good. _Assuming she wans to talk about it_, a tiny voice in his mind remarked. His smile faded a little.

"I'll talk to her about it, but I can't make any promises about the results, Rin-san" Naruto nodded. "Whether or not she wants to talk about it is Ino-chan's choice, after all. All I can promise is that I'll do my best to keep you informed."

"That will be enough, Uzumaki-sama. Now go... I can see you have a lot on your mind," Rin gently smiled at him. "And... should your sensei want to know what we talked about, the choice of whether to tell him or not is yours. Do whatever you feel is best. We will accept your decision."

"Yeah, I understand," Naruto nodded again.

"And if you want some ramen again, just let me know," Kagura said in a completely serious tone. Naruto stared, then laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! OK, Kagura-san... but I hope your wallet is fat enough to withstand my wrath!" he joked. Turning around, he smiled and waved at the four kunoichi, then darted away and disappeared in the forest.

The four Marsh women stared at the direction he'd vanished into, then Rin sighed and lay down on the ground, relaxing. She'd been tense for the whole discussion.

"Well, that went better than I thought," she murmured. Her students nodded. "I think Uzumaki-sama will accept the situation after all. But, the matter regarding Yamanaka-san... that troubles me."

"I'm sure everything will go well, Rin-sensei," Maki reassured her. "Yamanaka-san seems to be relatively level-headed."

"I hope that's the case," Rin replied. "I'd really hate to find myself under attack from the kind of power she was giving off..."

The four kunoichi fell silent, wondering how their mission would end.

**1234567890**

Naruto sat on the riverbank, staring at the water running before him. His thoughts were confused.

For all his life, he'd been shunned, hated and treated like dirt, and it had always been the fox's fault. But now, those four women had popped out of nowhere and turned his life upside down. The exact same reason why his village's denizens hated him was why they showered him with attention and respect. Moreover, he actually felt sorry for Kyuubi after finding out how and why he'd come to this world and attacked Konoha.

And then, they actually hinted that he might not be the only one carrying the fox's mark.

His thoughts shifted to Ino. His blonde teammate had indeed changed since she became part of Team 7. After a rough start, she had appeared to become more and more tolerant of his presence, and at times even enjoy his company. While Naruto still had a thing for Sakura, he had to admit that Ino was every bit as attractive as the pink-haired girl, if not more. Granted, she possibly had an even worse temper than Sakura - he'd seen her fly off the handle and beat up both him and Kakashi-sensei in more than one occasion - but all in all, she was a good girl.

What surprised him, though, was the sudden turn-around she did in regard to Sasuke. Ever since the bell test, she'd been distant towards the dark-haired boy, and he occasionally caught her throwing impressive glares at the Uchiha whenever he started brooding and angsting too much. Surprisingly, that treatment had made Sasuke more outgoing: lately, he'd been questioning Ino's attitude towards him, and while the arguments usually ended in the two of them huffing and ignoring each other, the mere fact that Sasuke actually _cared_ about what Ino thought of him was peculiar.

Naruto thought about how Ino had been acting in the last few weeks. He knew the blonde had always been a brash individual, preferring (much like Naruto himself) to act first and think about it later. On the other hand, he also remembered that Ino had been extraordinarily restless and aggressive in the days prior to them leaving for Wave Country. He wondered if that had been caused by this mysterious Basara. Or perhaps it was the Kyuubi chakra she allegedly possessed? Or maybe both...

Naruto shook his head as he reached a decision. He'd talk with Kakashi-sensei about this situation. It was way too much for him to handle alone, as much as he hated to admit it. As he got up, he idly wondered if Kakashi-sensei had any money.

Perhaps he could get a free ramen meal out of the chat...

**1234567890**

"...and that's what she said," Naruto concluded while inhaling his sixth bowl of ramen. Kakashi stared at him, not sure whether to smack him for burning a hole in his wallet or just wander away and think about what he told him. He settled for a mix of both: first, he smacked Naruto and muttered something about a 'bottomless pit', then he began to think about what he'd heard from the loud blonde.

As he considered the revelations the Marsh kunoichi had made about Kyuubi, he found himself more and more prone to accepting it as truth. It explained everything, really. And the Kyuubi DID happen to come from the general direction of Sawagakure, if what Rin had told him was accurate.

Kakashi thought about this situation an began to feel slightly stunned. The past two weeks had been full of amazing events and shocking news. First a mission going completely wrong, then Ino turning out to have what appeared to be a very strong demon inside her, then those Marsh girls showing up, and now this incredible revelation about Kyuubi's motives for killing so many ninja.

He was brought out of his reverie by Naruto calling him insistently. He blinked and refocused, realizing he had dangerously zoned out, and listened to the boy's question.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, what do you think about their claims on Ino?" the blonde genin asked. "The rest I can believe, and Ino definitely has something weird going on, but her having Kyuubi's chakra sounds way too odd."

Kakashi looked at him, pondering. After a while, he figured it was best to tell Naruto the truth, or at least part of it. After all, he was directly involved in the situation.

"Actually, Naruto, they're right on that account too," he said calmly. "Ino does possess Kyuubi's chakra, along with what's best described as a fragment of Kyuubi's soul... the 'Basara' entity whom you met is that fragment. She explained it to me... but I'd rather let her tell you the story, as you're directly involved in it, while I'm merely an outside observer."

"Hum... is it bad?"

"Truthfully? I have no idea," Kakashi replied to the frowning blonde. "So far, Ino's Kyuubi-fragment has only been helpful, so I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being. However... she _is_ still a full-fledged, unsealed demon for all intents and purposes. Even if her intentions are good, the mere presence of her demonic chakra in Ino's body could do bad things. I have the feeling that it was Basara's chakra that caused Ino to fall unconscious... she probably overused it, and her body shut itself down to prevent further damage."

"Then what should we do?" Naruto asked, half-annoyed and half-worried. Kakashi shook his head.

"For now, we wait. Sarutobi-sama hopefully will have a solution available. I just hope Ino wakes up soon. Transporting her is going to be difficult if she stays like this."

"I see..."

"Excuse me, Uzumaki-sama."

Naruto turned around as he recognized the polite voice addressing him. As expected, Kagura Moritsuna stood there, with an uncharacteristic urgent look on her face.

"Ah, Moritsuna-san. Nice to see you. Is something wrong?" Kakashi greeted the Marsh genin. She nodded seriously.

"Yamanaka-san has regained consciousness. She wishes to see Uzumaki-sama and Hatake-san... immediately."

The two Leaf nin were gone before the last word left Kagura's lips.

**1234567890**

"So, how do you feel?"

Ino sighed in exasperation. This was getting on her nerves. "I told you, Sasuke, I'm fine, if a bit hungry," she muttered. "And would you _please_ stop asking me that? I mean, it's only the sixteenth time in the last ten minutes you asked me that. If I start feeling any worse, I'll tell you, so quit pestering me like a mother hen!"

"Hn! Well, forgive me for actually _caring_," Sasuke replied acidly. "I see you're back to your obnoxious, insufferable, bitchy self. Yes, you're definitely fine. You have to be, or you wouldn't be so indisponent."

"What did you call me? I'm _not_ bitchy, you angsty jackass," Ino yelled, getting angry. "If anything, _you_ are, mr. I-am-better-than-everybody-and-make-sure-you-know-it."

"What's wrong with telling the truth? I _am_ better than the rest," Sasuke retorted, glaring at her. "Do you seriously think anyone else in our class is better than me?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Ino shouted. "What the Hell is wrong with you, anyway? If I understand things right, you want to kill whoever was involved in your clan's massacre. That's fine, really... but why do you have to be such an ass and act as if everyone else would just be in the way? I'm not asking you to give up on your revenge thoughts... just give people more credit. There are those who can help... there's no shame in accepting help from others to realize your dreams! That's what comrades are for!"

"...I know that," Sasuke quietly replied. "But... this is something I must do alone. I... can't rely on others. It's a family matter... what's left of my family, at any rate." He smiled humorlessly at his own remark.

"Very well..." Ino reluctantly conceded. She could see he wouldn't say anything else about it. "But remember, we're teammates. If you find yourself in need, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'll keep it in mind," Sasuke nodded. "I'll leave now. Naruto will be here soon, and you'll need all your strength to deal with the dead last, eh?"

"Heh, I have a hard time deciding which of you two exhausts me more," Ino chuckled. "Nah, come to think of it, that pervert-sensei of ours is worse than you both. At least you have the excuse of still being young. He's supposed to be a mature, responsible adult. Go on, get out. Jackass."

"Bitch."

Ino playfully stuck her tongue out at Sasuke, who smirked as he closed the door. She then sat there, staring at it with a thoughtful look on her face.

Sasuke had certainly changed since their first meeting. Then again, they all had changed. It was just more evident with the dark-haired boy. The same boy who, months ago, barely said 'hn' in respose to everything, was now talking (or more accurately, arguing) with her often during the day. Moreover, he was actually displaying concern for his teammates' wellbeing. Well, for her wellbeing, at any rate. She suspected that most of Sasuke's 'conversations' with others still consisted of nothing but 'hn' and the occasional 'whatever'. She rolled her eyes.

Her attention was drawn by a slight commotion behind her room's door. She raised an eyebrow as she listened, making out a few words, mostly death threats, and chuckled. Apparently, Naruto was already there and fighting with Sasuke as usual... She shook her head as the door to her room flew open and Naruto bounced in, followed lazily by Kakashi, who was reading Icha Icha Paradise as usual.

"Ino-chaaaan! You're all right!" Naruto shouted happily. Ino chuckled again. Some things never changed.

"Naruto, if you don't keep your voice down I won't be all right for much longer," she replied in an amused tone. Naruto's chastised expression made her giggle. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I survived Angst-kun, I'm sure I'll survive Ramen-kun and Ero-sensei too."

"Ino-chan, since when am I Ero-sensei? I'm hurt. Can't you see I'm a perfect example of virtue?" Kakashi asked in a perfectly innocent tone, flipping to the next page of his book. Naruto just stared at him with a 'You-must-be-kidding' look on his face, while Ino snorted derisively.

"Since when is being a sexually frustrated middle-aged man an example of virtue?" she retorted without missing a beat. Kakashi blinked, then put his book away and started sulking.

"I'm not middle-aged... show respect to your elders," he muttered. Ino stared at him incredulously.

"...are you _serious_? You have grey hair, you're an open pervert, you read those disgusting books, blush and giggle like a drooling maniac while reading, and you want me to _respect_ you?" she said, a heavy dose of sarcasm lacing her words. "Sensei, I respect you as a ninja, but not as a man. Stop being a sicko and maybe I'll change my mind."

Kakashi blinked again, then sighed... and royally put his foot in his mouth.

"Geez, PMSing much?"

**C R U N C H**

With frightening precision and considerable force, Ino flung the nearest hard object - a vase - right in Kakashi's face. The jounin dropped like a stone.

"Even if I _were_ PMSing, it'd be none of your business, perverted old fogey," Ino replied icily. "And you CERTAINLY shouldn't open your trap and announce it to the world!"

"Uh, Ino-chan?" Naruto asked quietly, having followed the exchange with a confused expression. Ino glanced at him and smiled. "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Err... what's PMS? Is it something you eat and makes you sick?"

Ino gawked at the blonde, while Kakashi went into a fit of uncontrollable laughter on the pavement. Surely he couldn't be _that_ clueless, could he? "Um, it has to do with the birds and bees," she explained.

"The what?" Naruto blinked. Ino quickly corrected herself. He _was_ that clueless.

"Ugh... ask Kakashi-sensei later. Wait, no, on second thought, don't. Ask anybody except Kakashi-sensei. He'd just give you the perverted version."

"Uh... OK."

"Good. Now... where was I?" she frowned. "Oh yes, I wanted to talk with you about..."

"Hold it, Ino," Kakashi stopped her. He quickly made a few hand seals and the room's atmosphere changed. "There. Now no one can eavesdrop on us. I'm guessing Sasuke still doesn't know about your little secret, and he most definitely doesn't know about Naruto's, so I figured you'd choose whether or not to tell him when and if you feel like it..."

"...are you telling me he was eavesdropping?" Ino asked, amused. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes. Or rather, he was before that Rando girl snuck up on him, hammered him and dragged him away. All of that in near-perfect silence, too. Those Marsh kunoichi are tough... they don't even feel like genin."

Ino was trying very hard not to laugh at the mental image of Sasuke getting stomped by the slim Marsh girl. After finally regaining her control, she grew serious. Looking at Kakashi and especially Naruto, she nodded.

"I believe we need to talk."

Naruto nodded back, while Kakashi merely sat in a chair and looked at her. The Jounin already knew pretty much everything about this whole situation, but having one's memory refreshed never hurt.

Over the next two hours, Ino explained to Naruto what had happened and who Basara truly was. She patiently answered any questions that Naruto and, occasionally, Kakashi asked her. No, she didn't have control over the demonic chakra. Yes, she had control over her body - as long as she was conscious, anyway. No, Basara wasn't hostile in any way, though she did have a very short temper. Yes, Basara's presence was most likely what made her so irritable and easily frustrated - she was already prone to anger as she was, and Basara's frustration only added fuel to the fire.

As the conversation went on, Naruto realized more and more just how delicate Ino's situation was. Her demon only had a minimal part of the Kyuubi's power, but the Kyuubi was sealed up. Furthermore, even that minimal part was tremendously powerful, although Basara couldn't take over Ino's body for more than ten minutes, fifteen if they really stretched it.

This normally wouldn't have bothered him, if not for a small detail. If the villagers found out, they'd make Ino's life Hell, if not end it altogether. He had a good enough idea from his own experience of how intense the hatred towards the Demon Fox's carrier could be. If word of this got out - that Ino possessed even a fragment of the Kyuubi's soul within her - she'd quite possibly find herself in mortal danger.

Naruto quickly proceeded to explain his fears to his teammates. Upon hearing of his concern for her wellbeing, Ino couldn't help but smile. _Count on Naruto to worry about others before himself..._ she thought.

"Naruto... has a good point," Kakashi spoke up, snapping Ino out of her reverie. "If the villagers and the higher ups find out, there might be huge trouble. For the time being, let's keep this between the three of us. We'll talk with Sarutobi-sama as soon as we get back to Konoha. Hopefully he'll figure out how to keep this mess under control. Is that all right with you two?"

Ino nodded, but Naruto frowned. "What about Sasuke-bastard and the Sawagakure kunoichi? Sasuke obviously suspects something, plus he _is_ our teammate. And Rin-san's team also suspects Ino-chan's power may be connected to mine..."

"As far as I can tell, those Marsh girls will do anything you ask them to, even if it's to jump off a cliff," Kakashi replied. "Just tell them you cannot explain everything to them yet... I'm sure they'll accept your decision. As for Sasuke..."

Kakashi frowned. He had high hopes for the Uchiha boy, but he couldn't help but be wary of the strange light that occasionally appeared in the Uchiha boy's eyes when he looked at Ino. He hoped that Sasuke wasn't planning to do anything stupid like use Ino and then throw her away... if he did, the jounin was fairly sure he wouldn't survive the blonde kunoichi's wrath.

"...for now, we'll keep it a secret from him, too. There's too much at stake to take any chance... even if it's with a teammate. Agreed?" he asked. Ino and Naruto nodded simultaneously. Kakashi sighed and got up.

"Very well. Now that this is out of the way... Ino, if you feel good enough, which I suspect you do since you do have a part of Kyuubi in you, then get up and join us for dinner," Kakashi instructed. Then, as an afterthought, he added: "Oh, and if I were you, I'd be careful about who I call middle-aged. After all, you're an old lady... your hair's turning white already."

Ino blinked. "My hair's turning _what_...?" she muttered, looking at the mirror mounted on the nearby wall. She stared at her reflection for a few long moments, eyes as wide as a saucer.

Then she shrieked.

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAHH!_"

Kakashi chuckled as he went downstairs, listening to Ino's desperate shrieks and Naruto's clumsy attempts at calming her down. _Never try to outwit your betters, young one_, he thought as he started humming an upbeat tone.

Messing with his students was so much fun...

**1234567890**

(A/N: Done! Sorry for taking so long... I'll be faster next time, promise. I hope you liked this next interlude. Next installment: Journey home and meeting the Sand genin! Two egos and three demon carriers collide. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and R&R as usual! GH out.)


	14. Chapter 12: Homecoming and New Friendshi

(A/N: Time for another exciting chapter! First, as always, answering to reviewers:

Daiyo: Well, if you're still, by any chance, reading this, then I'll take the time to answer you. First of all, this IS admittedly an Ino-centric fic, but how is she a Mary Sue? Her power comes at a price, and using it too much WILL kill her (it KO'd her for a good week after the last battle), and Ino herself is far from perfect - she's still as irritable, short tempered and loud as ever.

Regarding my selling Naruto/Sasuke short, in case you haven't noticed, in this fic Naruto did NOT meet Haku, so he'd have had no reason to stop from killing him. And Sasuke pretty much does the same stuff he did in the manga - keep Haku busy, save Naruto and 'die'. If anything, I'm making him less of a jackass, although his interest in Ino is indeed due to her new 'power'.

Third and final, if you read Chapter 11, then I think you'll understand why I had Ino take so much screentime up until now. With the appearance of the Marsh kunoichi, the focus shifts now to Naruto and Kyuubi. In the background, we'll see how the interaction between Ino and Sasuke changes the latter, and we'll also see Sakura ad the other Rookie Nine again. But before Naruto stole the scene, I had to estabilish Ino's role. Thus, the focus was on her.

At any rate... what happened, happened. If you're still reading this, good, you gave me a second chance. If not... well, just in case, I'm explaining myself. Good day.

Hinatafanboy: Sadly, I have no fanart aside from a pic of Onikage a friend did for me. Maybe in the future? In case you're interested, though, Ino's current look is almost the same as before. However, a few strands of her hair have turned permanently white (for a reason that'll be explained later), and starting this chapter she'll sport a triple-circle seal around her neck, which I'll describe in the fic. The rest's the same as usual.

Dan Inverse: Well... Gaara/Shukaku will notice that Ino doesn't smell quite human, but it's not interested in mating... for now. Fighting now... let's say relationships between those three are going to be turbulent at best.

panuru4u: That is actually a HUGE part of the story which will be explored in the next chapters. Hopefully I won't disappoint...

aznpuffyhair: Well, technically it should be Naruto/Ino, but experience tells me fics have a mind of their own... so, it might change. As for Maki, she's almost seven feet tall. When I say she's huge, I mean she's HUGE. FYI, while her age is listed as 'unknown', she's probably 15 or so years old, like her teammates, as she wasn't old enough to remember when the Kyuubi Incident happened.

- -

Done! Now... first, one announcement. If ANYONE intends to make any fanart of the OCs and/or modified characters (ie Ino and later Sakura) in this fic, then by all means, send it in or upload it. I'd absolutely love to see how you picture my characters in your mind. That said... we fast-forward to one month after Wave Country. Our heroes are back home and training... and the Chuunin Exams draw near...)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The character of Kazuki Maeda is a creation of The Wretched from GameFAQs. All other original characters are my creations.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**The Wretched** from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu, suggesting effects, character bios and a heck of a lot more... my single greatest contributor. Without you this fic would probably be a lot slower than it is, man;

**Hunter Sopko** from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality;

**TheHomelessGuy** and **TG Cloud** from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

**Tsukinosakura** and **RurouniGochan** from the RKDreams forums for more proofreading;

**Ice Dragon XXI** for EVEN MORE proofreading;

**Several other people** who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to **YOU** for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ are thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. 1**234567890** indicates a scene/perspective change. _Underlined locations in italics_ are a location change.)

**1234567890**

_**Chapter 12: Homecoming and New Friendships**_

_Hidden Leaf Village_

"_Baika no Jutsu!_"

The body of the blonde genin called Chouji suddenly increased to thrice his original size. The boy then suddenly tucked his head, arms and legs in and started rolling towards his opponent - the jounin instructor Asuma Sarutobi.

"_Nikudan Sensha!_" came the muffled cry from inside the ball of meat Chouji's body had become. Asuma's eyes narrowed as he slowly backed away from the charging genin. At the last second, he dodged to the left. Chouji, unable to stop himself, crashed uncontrollably in the stone wall behind Asuma, coming to a sudden stop and causing a hole of considerable size in the hard surface.

"Nice try, but that technique is predictable, Chouji," Asuma murmured, puffing smoke from the cigarette he held between his lips. "And if you come at me in a straight line, dodging is very easy, given the right timing... hunh?"

The jounin's last exclamation was due to his own hand jerking up and snatching the cigarette out of his mouth. He blinked, then sighed.

"Ah, Shikamaru. _Kagemane no Jutsu_, eh? I should've expected you'd anticipate me," he muttered as his body turned around against his will, glaring at the lazy-looking, dark haired genin facing him. "But you can't hold me long enough for Chouji to recover..."

"Who said I'm waiting for _Chouji_, sensei?" the lazy boy drawdled. Asuma suddenly felt the hair on his neck stand on end and glanced to his left. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar pink-haired genin rapidly doing hand seals while facing him.

"What are you _doing_, Sakura?" he asked as he studied the hand seal sequence. Ox, tiger, horse, horse, monkey, tiger, horse... he paled as he realized what technique his genin student was preparing.

"That technique... Sakura, you do realize that as long as Shikamaru is holding his Kagemane on me, whatever happens to me will happen to him as well?" he cautioned her, surprised that she'd know such a powerful jutsu. "If you use that jutsu, we'll both be torn apart."

"Are you this confident you can move faster than the wind, sensei?" the pink-haired kunoichi smirked as she completed the seal sequence and brought her left hand's index and middle finger up in a V position, with her fingertips over the corners of her mouth. "_Fuuton: Yonokaze no Jutsu!_"

Asuma watched in horror as Sakura lightly exhaled air out of her mouth. The light breath quickly started howling, and he distinctly saw the air before him quiver as the blast of chakra-charged breath rushed at him. A brief instant before the deadly breath struck him, he felt his body being released from the Kagemane and quickly dodged to the left...

...only to see Sakura's jutsu change direction and follow him. He barely had time to blink before the blast of air struck him, tearing him into pieces instantly.

A moment later, Asuma's Kage Bunshin's remains vanished with a poof and a burst of smoke. The real Asuma jumped down from the tree he was on and clapped his hands, impressed.

"Good job, all of you," he said, nodding to Shikamaru, a just now recovering Chouji and a clearly exhausted Sakura. "Shikamaru, your tactic of having Chouji act as distraction to coax me into moving right in your trap was excellent. Chouji, your recovery time from your Nikudan Sensha has improved. And Sakura... I must admit I'm impressed. You mastered a jounin-level Fuuton jutsu, even though you obviously can't use it more than once... but once is plenty enough from what I can see."

The three genin smiled. While their sensei was rather lazy, when he decided to actually train them he was serious. And he usually didn't compliment them unless he meant it.

"I just have one question..." Asuma said, puzzled. "How did you know which side to aim at with the Kagemane and the Yonokaze?"

"That was easy, Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru explained as he sat down and lazily stretched. "We've observed you in training before, and you have a preference for dodging to the left. Of course, it was a gamble, but seven out of ten times, when you dodge you do so to the left... from there on, formulating a team strategy to exploit that habit was easy."

"Hmm... good call. I wasn't aware of that. I'll be more careful in the future," Asuma nodded thoughtfully. "Still... you both took a chance with that. What if I had dodged to the right?"

"There are times when a ninja has to take chances. We were fighting an opponent far superior to us, therefore we felt that 'all or nothing' was an adequate approach this time," Sakura explained. Asuma nodded with a smile.

"Good reasoning, I see. All right, that's it for today. You're dismissed!"

As the three genin left, chattering idly (or more accurately, Sakura chattered while Chouji ate chips from a bag he fished out of the Kami know where and Shikamaru tuned them both out, watching the clouds as he dragged his feet home), Asuma noticed a pigeon fly up high in the sky. His smile was replaced by a frown.

_It is that time already, huh...? Hmmm... they might be ready..._

**1234567890**

"Don't sleep on your feet! You call that teamwork? I call that barely getting along with each other!"

Team 7 cringed as Rin Watanabe's sharp voice chastised their poor attempt at a coordinated action. Ever since Konohagakure's Team 7 and Sawagakure's Team 4, Rin's team, started training together after their return from Wave Country, Rin had showed her stern, no-nonsense side. Either she was satisfied by a drill or she'd make her pupils repeat it until she was satisfied. Usually, it was the latter, much to the chagrin of the Konoha genin.

Presently, their assignment was to land a single hit on Rin's Kage Bunshin. It wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded, and in fact the clone had been giving them a sound thrashing for most of the morning. On top of that, Kakashi-sensei was more late than usual and Team 4 had been giggling and snickering at their pitiful attempts to hit their sensei's clone for the whole time.

As Naruto pondered ways to torture their perverted sensei, his train of thoughts was viciously cut short by an elbow smash to the abdomen from the Rin-clone. He doubled over gasping, the air driven entirely out of his lungs. Naruto grimaced. While the Marsh kunoichi respected him at all times, none of them pulled any punches in training. The memory of Maki slugging him through two walls was still fresh in his mind.

Naruto looked up with watering eyes and grinned despite the pain. _At least Sasuke-bastard isn't doing any better than me_, he thought as he watched the black-haired boy get brutally beat down by the clone, who promptly started assaulting Ino with considerable violence as soon as the Uchiha heir was dispatched. Two seconds and a punch-kick-flying kick combination later, the blonde kunoichi joined her teammates in the dirt.

The three genin slowly raised their battered selves off the ground, groaning tiredly. Rin observed them with a frown, then dispelled her Kage Bunshin. Shaking her head, she addressed them.

"This just won't do," she began, glaring at Sasuke. "Uchiha-san, you need to stop trying to do everything by yourself. That kind of attitude will get you killed someday. You only even remotely attempt to cooperate with Yamanaka-san, even when cooperating with Uzumaki-sama would be more productive. I don't care how much you two hate each other... you're a team, so fight as a team. Understood?"

Sasuke nodded stiffly. If there was one thing the Uchiha never did, it was antagonize the Marsh jounin. His gut instinct told him it'd have very unpleasant consequences.

"As for you, Uzumaki-sama," Rin continued, her glare shifting to Naruto, who wilted under it, "the same things I told Uchiha-san apply. Unlike him, you're overeager to assist Yamanaka-san, but when it comes to assisting Uchiha-san, you hesitate a bit too much for my taste. Drill it in your head - however much you may dislike Uchiha-san, you should dislike your enemies a whole lot more. 'The enemy of my enemy is my ally', in short. And seeing how the three of you may be stuck together for a long time, you should at least make an effort to cooperate. Just getting along without killing each other won't cut it in the upcoming Chuunin Exams. Is this clear?"

"Yes, Rin-sensei," Naruto replied meekly, looking chastised. Rin snorted. She knew that expression: Jun wore it whenever she knew she messed up and wanted to avoid punishment. _Uzumaki-sama is picking some bad habits up from her_, she mused.

"Finally, Yamanaka-san," she turned to the blonde girl, her glare becoming slightly less harsh, "You're the only one who actively seeks teamwork, but you seem to lack concentration. You need to focus on the battle at hand. Distraction is a ninja's worst enemy. I understand that there's a lot on your mind... Hokage-sama talked to you for longer than your companions, right? Is what he told you worrying you?"

Ino shook her head negatively. "No, it isn't that I'm worried. Just... I'm still absorbing it all. Sorry, Rin-sensei," she apologized.

"...It's all right as long as all of you understand what I'm saying and work on your problems," Rin said, dropping the glare. "You kids have potential, but between the attrition in your team and that _perverted excuse for a sensei_ of yours," she continued, her words dripping enough venom to make both Team 7 and Team 4 wince, "you risk never living up to it. Well... you're dismissed for this morning. Try to sort things out... the Chuunin Exams are coming soon, and if your useless sensei knows what's good for him, he'll enter you," she concluded ominously. Nobody asked her what she meant. It was fairly obvious, and far from a threat.

As Team 7 walked away, Rin approached her pupils and sat down next to her with a sigh.

"What in the world has that horny, lazy, no good man been teaching them?" she muttered in a frustrated tone. "Individually, they are formidable for their age, no doubt about it... especially Uchiha-san. But as a team, they are a complete and utter disaster. No coordination, little cooperation and a lot of bad blood between the three of them. If this keeps up, none of them will even make it to chuunin. Teamwork is just as vital as individual prowess."

"Calm down, sensei. I believe there is still hope for them," Kagura suggested with a serene smile. "We were much worse off when you took us in. I was completely and utterly antisocial, Jun was lazy to an extreme, and Maki was... well... Maki. No offense meant," she added to her friend.

"None taken," Maki replied with a shrug. Kagura cast a look at her sensei, as if to say 'See what I mean?'. Rin chuckled.

"So you see, things are not so desperate. It will all work out in the end," the genin continued, then frowned. "Though, to be honest, I am worried about Uchiha-san... there is an extremely dark aura enveloping him. According to Yamanaka-san, it has to do with his clan's destruction..."

"I'm worried as well," Jun interjected. "That guy's self destructive, ya know? He'll crash and burn if he keeps being obsessed with power, and he'll drag the rest of the team in the flames with him as well."

"There's also the chance that his desire of power makes him an easily manipulated person," Maki added, her expression darkening slightly. "It can happen, sadly. Even our village had its fair share of those people..."

"Are you still thinking about her, Maki?" Jun asked in a gentle tone.

"She was my only friend, and I hers," Maki replied, a tinge of sadness creeping in her voice. "Had her parents not been murdered on that fateful mission, she'd still be living happily in the village..."

"That's a ninja's life," Rin said in a low tone. "We leave our home to carry out our duty... and sometimes, we do not return, our duty requiring the greatest sacrifice..."

"...I know," was Maki's only reply.

Team 4 was silent for a long time afterwards.

**1234567890**

Shortly after Team 7 left the training grounds, Sasuke split off and went home alone. Naruto ended up offering to escort Ino as close to home as he could without her parents seeing him - while Ino's father generally tolerated him, his mother saw him as noting but a sharp thorn in her side and made no mystery of her dislike for him, grumbling loudly and cursing under her breath whenever his name was mentioned.

As the pair walked towards the Yamanaka residence, Ino stared at the sky, lost in thought. While she tried not to think too hard about it, she couldn't help but remember the discussion she had with the Hokage after Team 7 had returned from the Wave Country mission.

"Hey, Ino-chan, you're zoning out again," Naruto called, causing her to snap out of her thoughts. "You're still thinking about what the old fossil told you?"

Ino smacked Naruto on the back of his head. "You idiot, you don't call the Hokage 'old fossil'," she reprimanded him. "Would you want others to call you that when you're old?"

"Hey, no one will ever say that to me," Naruto said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'll be too awesome of a Hokage for anyone to disrespect me!"

"I'm sure you'll be Hokage someday, but I wouldn't know about the 'awesome' part, and I certainly won't respect you, even if you turn out to be a thousand times better than Yondaime," Ino promptly replied, causing Naruto to frown.

"But Ino-chaaaaan!" he wailed. "I thought you were my number one supporter!"

"I am," she replied with a smirk. "That's why, when you become Hokage, I'll be your right-hand woman and make sure you won't do anything hopelessly stupid."

Naruto groaned, and Ino laughed. Messing with Naruto was so easy...

She absently kept walking, instinctively avoiding obstacles as her mind returned once again to the talk she had with the Hokage. It wasn't something she'd forget anytime soon...

_"I see. Very well, I'll count this as one A-rank mission for all of you. Congratulations, Team 7. There aren't many genin teams who'd come out of such a mess in one piece," the Hokage complimented the three young genin. "Now... Sasuke, Naruto... you're both dismissed. Ino, please stay. Kakashi told me you both have some important information for me."_

_The two boys nodded and left, but not before Naruto cast an encouraging look at Ino. He knew what the 'information' was all about, and hoped no trouble would befall his young companion because of it._

_After the two boys left, Kakashi quickly checked to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, then locked the door and sat down again. The Hokage stared at him, waiting. The silver haired jounin merely waved in Ino's direction. "I'll let Ino-chan explain it. It's better that way," he stated._

_As the Hokage's gaze shifted to her, Ino steeled herself. This was possibly the most important moment in her life, and she knew it. Taking a deep breath, she began to talk._

_She explained about Basara and the relationship that she and her 'guest' had, and narrated the events that took place after her 'possession'. As her story unfolded, a huge range of emotions swept over the Hokage's face: from fear to concern, to relief, to puzzlement, to surprise, to thoughtfulness._

_Finally, she concluded by relaying the events in the Wave Country from her own point of view. Upon reaching the point where she regained consciousness after one week, she concluded: "...and that's what happened, Hokage-sama." She then fell silent._

_The Hokage said nothing for several long minutes, lost in thought. Ino waited for him to say something, and as the minutes passed she grew increasingly restless. Fortunately, Basara calmed her down with a few soothing words. Finally, the Hokage looked straight at her._

_"I desire your honest opinion, both of you," he began. "Do you believe that this 'Basara' is a threat to Konoha?"_

_"No," was Ino's immediate answer. "Had she wanted to, she could've destroyed most of Konoha months ago. If she hasn't done it yet, she won't do it at all. Besides... I trust her."_

_"I understand," the Hokage nodded, then looked at the one-eyed jounin seated next to Ino. "Kakashi?"_

_"...for the most part, I agree with Ino," he said after a pause. "I've see what a minimal part of the Kitsune's power can do, and if that is any indication of what Basara herself is capable of, she could have taken on most of Konoha's ninja by herself... and win the fight. Had she meant harm, she'd have made her move long ago, and she certainly wouldn't have made her presence known to Ino, much less to me or Naruto. Furthermore, she was vital in our victory at Wave Country. So... no, I suppose she's not a threat. At least not to Konoha..."_

_"What do you mean...?" Ino asked, puzzled. Kakashi sighed._

_"I mean that, just by being here, she's a potential danger to you," he explained. "Basara herself admitted it was because of overusing her chakra that you passed out... though a good part of it was due to your stupidity in not heeding her warnings." At that, Ino blushed guiltily. "I'm not going to suggest sealing her up... it'd be unkind towards someone who's proved her honesty several times... but we need to find a way to prevent you from using too much of her chakra again."_

_"Oh... yes, I suppose you're right," Ino nodded. Her eyes became vacant for a few moments, then focused again. "Basara agrees too, but she's afraid she can't help with this. As odd as it sounds, she has no experience with seals that _limit_ power... only those that increase it."_

_"No need to worry," the Hokage said with a benevolent smile. "I think I can arrange for something adequate..."_

Ino absentmindedly touched her throat, where three black stripes with blue runes etched on them now showed themselves, completely circling her slender neck. It took a good week of experimenting for the Hokage and Basara together to come up with a suitable seal, and they had to create a triple-strate one to boot. Anything less than that and Ino would've shattered it with the first serious attempt to draw excessive amounts of Basara's chakra.

With this seal in place, she could only draw a little less than the maximum amount of demon chakra her body could handle without starting to damage itself from the strain. While it was just a fraction of what she'd drawn in Wave Country, it still was enough to make her considerably more powerful than usual.

It was also set to still allow Basara to take over should she be knocked unconscious. During those instances, the seal would temporarily deactivate, thus allowing Basara to perform to full capacity. However, her human body's limits were still there, so her body could only take so much before being consumed by its own power. Basara assured she'd be careful: she had no desire to commit suicide.

Ino smiled as she recalled her acquaintances' reaction to the new seal. Naruto, who knew what it was for, simply smiled and told her: "Welcome in the club, Ino-chan." She still felt like laughing at the memory.

Sasuke was curious until she explained that it was a seal designed to increase stamina by forcing the body to produce more chakra. He was unconvinced, but after checking and finding out that such a seal did indeed exist, he appeared to accept the news. However, he also began to insist to train with her one-on-one. Ino was certain he suspected something, and was extra careful when around him.

Her parents were the toughest to deceive. Her mother was already unhappy with her being in the same team as Naruto, though her father eventually mellowed her out. Inoshi had a certain charm with the ladies. But when she saw what she called 'an ugly tattoo' on her neck, she had flipped out. In the end, Ino just told her it was an exercise recommended by the Hokage himself. That shut her up... for the most part. But Ino was not eager to know what would happen if word of Basara got to her parents' ears.

Ino's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp prodding in her ribs. Frowning, she looked at Naruto, who had been poking her with a stick. "What, are you _trying_ to get hurt, Naruto-kun?"

"Peace, peace!" Naruto hastily backed off. "You were so lost in thought you didn't even notice me tugging on your shirt, so... anyway, I'd better split. If your mom sees me, we're both gonna catch holy Hell. See you tomorrow at training, yeah?"

"Yes, yes... don't go eating instant ramen again now, okay?" she chided him. "Give okonomiyaki a try... you've still got money from Wave Country, and you might be surprised by how good they are."

"Aye-aye, Cap'n," Naruto mock-saluted her before running off. Ino sighed. Hoping that Naruto would become more serious was probably a lost cause.

As she stepped in her home, a pigeon flew overhead, headed for the Hokage's tower.

**1234567890**

Several hours later a handful of Konoha jounin, as well as Umino Iruka of the Ninja Academy, stood in the Hokage's office. Among others there were Asuma Sarutobi, jounin instructor of Konoha's Team 9, Kurenai Yuuhi, instructor of Team 8 and Kakashi Hatake, Team 7's leader. Rin Watanabe of Sawagakure's Team 4 was also present.

"I see you're all here, including our honored guest," the Hokage began after looking them over. "I called you here because, as you know, the Chuunin Exams are coming up in two weeks from today. As by tradition, I gathered the rookie teams' jounin instructors here to accept eventual nominations for this event. Remember, this exam is very important for its participants, and also potentially lethal. Think carefully before entering fresh genin in it. Well... anyone?"

_This is pointless_, Iruka thought during the speech. _Of course no one will enter. Sending inexperienced genin into such an event is almost equal to a death sentence..._

His thoughts were interrupted as Kurenai raised her right hand up. He incredulously listened to the kunoichi's words.

"I, Yuuhi Kurenai, wish to enter Team 8, including Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, in the Chuunin Exams."

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, wish to enter Team 9, including Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura and Akimichi Chouji, in the Chuunin Exams," the bearded jounin next to her echoed her words.

Iruka blinked in disbelief, then looked at Kakashi and felt his stomach twist as he saw him raise his hand as well.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, wish to enter Team 7, including Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, in the Chuunin Exams."

That was the last straw for Iruka, whose indignation exploded.

"Are you all _insane_?" he shouted. "They're fresh, inexperienced genin! This exam is not a walk in the park! What if they make a mistake and get crippled because of their lack of experience?"

The three Konoha jounin looked at the chuunin teacher, but it was Rin who spoke up.

"With all due respect for your experience, Umino-san," the kunoichi said in a low voice, drawing his attention, "I believe your reaction is entirely out of place. I can understand your protectiveness towards former pupils, but I would argue that their current instructors know their actual capabilities better than you do, having closely followed them for... several months, yes? Furthermore, these kids are no longer your responsibility... as much as the notion may be displeasing to you, you must accept their jounin instructors' decision. So please, do not make this overly difficult for your fellow shinobi."

"...uuugh!" Iruka grunted, gritting his teeth. As much as he hated to admit it, the Marsh jounin was right. With a final, withering glare to Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai, he fell silent.

"Speaking of which..." Rin continued, adopting a formal tone. "Sandaime Hokage, on behalf of Sanada Kouryu, Onikage of Sawagakure, I, Watanabe Rin, wish to enter Sawagakure's Genin Team 4, including Moritsuna Kagura, Rando Jun and Yamazaki Maki, in the Chuunin Exams."

She stepped forward and handed a few sealed documents to the Hokage, then took two steps back and bowed. The Hokage broke the seals and quickly scanned the documents before him, then nodded.

"Your request is accepted. Konohagakure is honored to be the first Hidden Village to include genin from Sawagakure in its Chuunin Exams," the Hokage courteously replied. "I believe you already know where your lodgings are. Please refrain from acts of hostility in this village. You are dismissed."

Rin bowed again, cast a sidelong glance at Kakashi and quickly left. As soon as she had departed, Asuma and Kurenai exhaled loudly.

"Geez, that woman gives me a serious case of the creeps," the bearded jounin remarked. "Just standing near her made my hair stand on end."

"Yes, there's something terrifying about her aura," Kurenai agreed. "Kakashi, your team has been training with hers for some time now. Do you know anything?"

"Only two things," the jounin replied. "Pissing her off isn't a good idea, and I'm probably going to get a beating when I leave this place."

"Any reasons why?" the Hokage asked with an amused expression.

"Aside from her belief that I'm a lazy, perverted, tardy, no good, incompetent, foolish, poor excuse for a jounin? No clue," he replied with a completely serious face, causing the other two jounin and Iruka to facefault. He fished out the newest Icha Icha novel from one of his pockets and glanced at the Hokage. "Can I go now? I need to give the kids the good news."

"Go on," the Hokage nodded. "Asuma, Kurenai, you're dismissed as well. Send Anko and Ibiki in, please. Iruka, stay."

After the three jounin left, two ninja, a male and a female, came in. The male's huge frame was wrapped in a coat which covered a jounin uniform, and what was visible of his face was badly scarred. The woman wore a coat as well, but under it she wore little besides a fishnet shirt and short pants. A sinister smirk was plastered on her face.

"Good, you're here," the Hokage greeted them. "How's the organization of the Exams coming along?"

"Just _fine_, Hokage-sama," the kunoichi purred in a creepy tone. Iruka felt his skin crawl. Mitarashi Anko was well known as a psycho sadist of the worst kind. Her satisfied air could not bode well for the poor genin entering this year's exam. The other organizer, Morino Ibiki, wasn't much better: he wasn't the commander of the Torture and Interrogation Squad for nothing.

"Hmm. Well, I'm afraid I must ask you to increase security," he said, handing out three scrolls for them to read. Ibiki and Anko took them and read them, their expression rapidly changing from curiosity to disbelief. After they finished reading, they looked at the Hokage in amazement.

"Wait, so you're saying that we'll have a _Kage_ from a 400-years old, previously unknown Hidden Village as a guest for the preliminary round, _and_ two other village leaders from the Sand and Moon during the finals?" she said, still incredulous. Such a concentration of village leaders in a single village happened only once every 100 years, if even that, and it was even rarer for two Kage to oversee the Chuunin Exams from start to finish.

"Yes," the Hokage nodded. "So you understand, security must be as tight as possible. The Onikage says in this message that he'll be here the day before the Exams, and apparently he is already on his way here. As you can imagine, we would be in trouble should something happen to him while he is here. I'm counting on you, so do your best to ensure that nothing happens. You're both dismissed."

Wordlessly, the two examiners left the room, already thinking on how to improve security for such important guests. The Hokage turned to Iruka.

"I'll also be counting on you, Iruka," he said. "Warn me if anything odd happens. And keep an eye on both Naruto and Ino, all right?"

Iruka nodded. He was the only one besides the Hokage who had been told of Ino's condition, and after an initial panic attack, he had come to uneasily accept it. He understood the need to keep both under control.

"I'll do my best, Hokage-sama," he assured. The old ninja nodded. That was all he asked for.

**1234567890**

The next day found Team 4 and Team 7 wandering around town. Kakashi and Rin had announced to them that they were admitted to the Chuunin Exams, to which all six genin had simultaneously agreed and asked for details. Kakashi was a little surprised by how quickly they accepted the news, but complied, instructing them about the day and time of the exams. Afterwards, he departed, deeply lost in the reading of Icha Icha Paradise. Rin left only moments later, claiming to have a very important matter to take care of.

Shortly after, Sasuke and Kagura split without a word, going into opposite directions. No one questioned that - it was usual routine for both. In the first days of training, Maki and Jun had explained to them that Kagura wasn't much for socializing, though she was polite when need be. Similarly, Naruto and Ino had explained to the two kunoichi why Sasuke was so much of a loner.

As they wandered, Maki's attention was drawn by a group of three kids running around. Naruto also noticed them and his expression brightened.

"Oh! Hey, it's the old geezer's grandson, Konohamaru! I wonder how he is?"

Ino looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he that kid you encouraged before we left for the Wave Country mission? The one who wanted to become Hokage?"

"Yeah! We're friends now. We even play 'ninja' together sometimes!" Naruto grinned. His companions and Team 4 stared at him dumbfounded.

"How can a ninja 'play ninja'...?" Jun asked, blinking. Ino merely sighed, shaking her head.

"Huh? What do you mean? ...Ho, Konohamaru! Wanna play?" he shouted at the short kid called Konohamaru. The boy looked up and smiled, then motioned to his two companions.

"Moegi, Udon, let's go!" he said, and the three approached the four genin. Ino shook her head again.

"What? You're still a brat, Naruto. Don't you think you should be a little more serious now that you're a ninja?" she said. Naruto pouted.

"But Ino-chaaaaan! It's just a way to kill time!"

"...whatever," she sighed in resignation, throwing her hands up. "Just leave me out of this."

As she turned around, Konohamaru approached Naruto and held up his left hand's little finger.

"Big brother, is that scary she-devil your girlfriend?"

Naruto paled, and the Marsh kunoichi hastily backed off as Ino's aura suddenly grew very cold.

"Brat," Ino growled, slowly turning around with a scary expression on her face. "What... did... you... just... call... me?"

"Oh shit," Naruto muttered. "Konohamaru, if you like being all in one piece, run. Run very fast."

With that, Naruto, Konohamaru and his friends turned around and fled, chased by a very angry Ino. The five ran all over the place for a while, much to the amusement of Maki and Jun.

Then Konohamaru ran into someone and was thrown to the ground. Everyone stopped running and tensed up.

The new arrival was a strange boy with face paint on, dressed entirely in black and with a large lump hanging from his back. Behind him was a blonde girl with her hair tied in four tails, wearing a short dress and fishnet clothes under it, with a large fan strapped on her back. Both wore forehead protectors with a symbol Naruto and Ino had never seen. Team 4's kunoichi, however, were familiar with it.

"They're Sunagakure genin, aren't they?" Maki said in a tone that was more of a statement than a question. Jun nodded. The Hidden Village of Sand was reported to have sent a genin team this year. Those two were probably part of it.

"...only two. Jun, locate the third," Maki instructed. Jun replied immediately.

"The tree to their right. Impossible to miss him. He reeks of blood."

Maki nodded. "Stand by for now. Let us see what happens. Damn it, where are Uchiha-san and Kagura when we need them?"

While the two Marsh genin stood ready to act, the black-clad boy bent down and picked Konohamaru up by the collar.

"You hurt me, brat," he hissed. "Hasn't your mother taught you to apologize?"

"Let me go, you big bully!" Konohamaru shouted, struggling to break free. Moegi and Udon whimpered, backing away. Naruto, however, took one step forward, glaring at the boy.

"Let Konohamaru go, you creepy scarecrow!" he shouted. The Sand boy looked at him and smiled back.

"What if I don't?" he replied in a mocking tone. Behind him, the girl sighed.

"Kankuro, I don't think this is a good idea. Look at their forehead protectors," she advised him. Kankuro merely snorted.

"Oh, come on Temari. What danger could they possibly pose? Besides, he's not around now, so I'll do what I want."

At that, Naruto growled and rushed forward, preparing to attack. Kankuro merely smirked and slightly moved his fingers. Immediately afterwards, Naruto tripped and fell flat on his face. The Sunagakure genin chuckled darkly.

"Those Konohagakure genin... they're so weak," he taunted the downed blond boy. Ino's eyes narrowed at that, and she took one step forward, but Basara stopped her.

**Don't interfere. Watch,** she ordered. Ino hesitated, then obeyed, settling for glaring darkly at the Sand pair.

"Now, brat, where were we?" Kankuro said, raising Konohamaru a bit higher in the air. "Oh yes... you ran into me. And didn't apologize. I think I should teach you some manners..."

Kankuro's speech was suddenly interrupted by a grunt of pain as a pebble flew out of nowhere and struck his hand, causing him to drop Konohamaru. The boy took advantage of the surprise factor to scuttle back as far as he could from the Sand genin. As Kankuro held his hand, he glared towards the tree Jun had pointed out earlier. Sitting on a branch was Sasuke, observing him coldly.

"Step away from the kid," the Uchiha ordered. The Sand nin sneered and made to move, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as he felt something cold and extremely sharp pressed against his throat.

"I advise against doing anything stupid," a quiet, emotionless voice whispered in his ear. Temari, who had been watching the whole scene, blinked as a kimono-clad woman seemingly materialized at her companion's side, holding a kunai at his throat. She swallowed nervously. For some reason, this woman made her nervous.

Kankuro swore, then glared at the tree Sasuke was on... and went rigid. Sweat started pouring on his face as his eyes widened in fear.

"Ah... hehehe... Gaara, you were there?"

Sasuke blinked, then tensed as a presence suddenly appeared to his right. He immediately darted off his tree branch and landed on a crouch, staring at the newest arrival.

On the branch up and to the right of the one he'd been perched on, hanging upside down, was a strange boy with red eyes and a massive gourd on his back. Black circles surrounded his eyes, suggesting that he didn't sleep much, if at all.

"I apologize for my siblings' rudeness," the newcomer spoke quietly, staring intensely at Sasuke. The Leaf genin suddenly felt uncomfortable. The redheaded boy's gaze was almost... predatory.

Gaara's stare broke as he noticed the rest of Team 7 and Team 4 approach the scene. He momentarily surveyed all of them, then blinked as he looked at Ino. He appeared to hesitate, as if about to say something.

"Uh, Gaara, this isn't what you think," Kankuro said, taking advantage of Gaara's silence to explain himself. His words died in his chest as the Sand boy looked at him and hissed.

"Shut up. Or I'll kill you."

Kankuro momentarily stopped breathing, looking as if he was absolutely terrified, and even Temari fidgeted nervously. Ino looked at the scene with a puzzled expression until Basara suddenly spoke up.

**That boy, he smells of demon**, the kitsune stated in a worried tone. **I believe he is a Jinchuuriki as well. Be very careful of what you say and do around him.**

Ino blinked as she recognized the term used to define Naruto and herself. _Another demon carrier?_, she thought. _What are the odds of three Jinchuuriki popping up in the same place at once?_

**Very low. Be on your guard, Ino**, Basara advised her. **I have a bad feeling about this. Something terrible might happen in these Chuunin Exams.**

Ino took note of Basara's warning, then focused as she noticed the redheaded boy called Gaara, who had by then come off his branch, staring at her. She fidgeted uncomfortably.

"What? What do you want?" she asked defensively. Gaara stared a bit longer, then nodded at her and Sasuke in succession.

"You... I would like to know your names," he asked in a flat tone.

"You mean mine? I am..." Naruto interjected, only to be cut off by a wave of Gaara's hand.

"Not you. The raven-haired boy and blonde girl," he stated. Naruto looked offended. Ino and Sasuke looked at each other, then shrugged.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke, genin of Konohagakure," Sasuke said in a neutral tone.

"And I am Yamanaka Ino, also a genin of Konohagakure," Ino followed up. "You must be here to enter the Chuunin Exams, am I right? If you aren't, I'll be forced to go look for help."

The Sand genin looked at them a bit longer, then nodded.

"Yes... we are," he confirmed. Temari produced some papers and Ino recognized them as official requests for entry in the Chuunin Exams. The redheaded nin then spoke up again. "I am Gaara of the Desert, from Sunagakure. I will be seeing you in the Chuunin Exams. Kankuro, Temari, let's go."

Without another word, Gaara turned around and walked away. Kankuro and Temari hesitated, briefly glancing at Sasuke and Ino, then hurried after him. Team 7 and Team 4 were left standing, along with Konohamaru and his friends.

"You should go home, kids," Kagura addressed the younger trio, gently motioning them away. "You had enough excitement for one day."

Moegi and Udon didn't hesitate in running off. Konohamaru briefly waited, giving Naruto an odd look.

"I was counting on you, Naruto-niichan," he said in an accusing tone. At that, Kagura frowned, but it was Jun who spoke up.

"He did what he could, kid," she stated. "Those three aren't like Naruto, or even us. They'll kill for sport. You were lucky to survive. Run along now, and stay away from them."

Konohamaru bit his lip, then ran off. There was a brief period of silence, then Maki spoke up.

"That Gaara kid... he's not normal. He gave me the chills."

"Yes," Kagura nodded. "We would do well to keep our distance from him. Especially you, Yamanaka-san and Uchiha-san. Be very careful."

The two nodded. Jun sighed.

"Well, this won't be a boring exam, that much is certain," she joked.

Her words hung in the air like an ominous prediction.

**1234567890**

As the Sand trio walked along Konoha's streets, Kankuro and Temari mulled over Gaara's strange behaviour and unusual interest for the blonde girl named Ino. After thinking about it for a bit longer, Temari gathered her courage and addressed her sibling directly.

"Gaara... why were you staring at that Leaf kunoichi?" she asked, and then waited. Gaara took a few more steps, then stopped, still staring straight ahead.

Then Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened as they observed one of the rarest events they could think of.

Gaara of the Desert was smiling.

"...this will be different... I can't wait," the redheaded genin muttered quietly, a strange light creeping in his eyes. "Yes, I can't wait for the exams to start..."

And with those words, Gaara of the sand looked up at the sky with anticipation.

**1234567890**

(A/N: Phew, another done! I had most of this sitting on my PC for a good 2 weeks, but never got around to finishing it. Now, here it is. I hope it is good. R&R!

GH out.)


	15. Chapter 13: Chuunin Exams

(A/N: Well, I'm back after a long hiatus. You may be wondering why it took me so long. The answer is simple: my interest in the Naruto fandom is rapidly waning after the gigantic letdown that the timeskip and everything afterwards have been. No, I'm not happy with Sasori jobbing to Suckura. No, I'm not happy with Kakashi gaining a new bull power for his Sharingan (teleportation? gimme a break). And no, I'm NOT happy with Gaara not staying dead like a good corpse should. Jesus, Naruto has basically turned into DBZ with ninja - a powerup fest in which good guys rarely, if ever, die or stay dead.

I'm going to continue this fic, but I'll conclude this installment at the Valley of the End. Whether or not I'll write about the timeskip as well entirely depends on how much Naruto will suck in the future. If it keeps going down the current road, I frankly don't expect to ever pick it up again. Just a fair warning...

Now... first, one announcement. If ANYONE intends to make any fanart of the OCs and/or modified characters (ie Ino) in this fic, then by all means, send it in or upload it. I'd absolutely love to see how you picture my characters in your mind. That said... here comes the next chapter!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The character of Kazuki Maeda is a creation of The Wretched from GameFAQs. All other original characters are my creations.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**The Wretched** from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu, suggesting effects, character bios and a heck of a lot more... my single greatest contributor. Without you this fic would probably be a lot slower than it is, man;

**Hunter Sopko** from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality;

**TheHomelessGuy** and **TG Cloud** from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

**Tsukinosakura** and **RurouniGochan** from the RKDreams forums for more proofreading;

**Ice Dragon XXI** for EVEN MORE proofreading;

**Several other people** who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to **YOU** for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ are thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. 1**234567890** indicates a scene/perspective change. _Underlined locations in italics_ are a location change.)

**1234567890**

_**Chapter 13: Chuunin Exams**_

_In the Hidden Leaf region, four days later_

"Onikage-sama, we're almost at Konoha," a slim kunoichi addressed the Hidden Marsh leader as they, along with a third ninja, walked on the road connecting the Marsh region to the Leaf. The kunoichi had a peculiar appearance: purple hair, pale green eyes and, strangest of all, a heavily tattooed body which gave her a slightly sinister air, even though the only exposed parts of it were the arms, the legs past the knees and her face.

The kunoichi continued in a lower tone, "Also, we have been followed for the last fifteen minutes. I cannot track these intruders down... they're good enough to evade my covert attempts at surprising them... but I am fairly sure they are not Konoha ninja."

"I am aware of the intruders, Hotaru," the Onikage calmly replied, not slowing down. "I have a good idea of who they are. For now, pretend not to be aware of their presence and carry on with your duties. There will be time to deal with them later."

"Understood, Onikage-sama," Hotaru nodded. She bowed curtly, then darted away. The Onikage and his second companion, who on closer inspection turned out to be a tall, heavily bandaged woman who looked remarkably like Maki, kept walking. After a while, the bandaged woman addressed the Marsh Kage.

"Are you sure it's safe to just leave the intruders be, Onikage-sama?" she murmured in a tone almost too low to hear. "I'm sure we could at least capture a few of them if we actually try..."

"First of all, Karin, just call me Kouryu. I feel awkward when those who are close to me speak to me with such deference," he chided her with a smile. "Secondly, it is better to hide our strength and lull the enemy in a false sense of superiority. Remember, 'what you see is not always what it seems'."

"I see. Think they're from Otogakure?"

"I am almost certain of it. His information were spot-on, as usual," the Onikage replied. Karin grinned.

"'Tis a pity he's not here as well. It'd be like old times, eh Kou-kun?" she chuckled. Kouryu smiled back.

"If you start using my old nickname, expect me to call you Kaa-chan again," he warned her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Karin grimaced.

"That's not fair," she muttered. "I'm head of the Yamazaki clan now... I'd lose face if you called me that in public."

"And I would not? I am the Onikage after all," he reminded her. Karin chuckled again.

"Yeah, true."

Their conversation was cut short by Hotaru reappearing before them. She quickly knelt before the Onikage and made her report.

"Onikage-sama, the gates are past the next turn of the road," she stated. "Also, our trackers have left. It appears they won't come any closer to Konoha than that."

"Good. Let us make haste. I cannot wait to meet Uzumaki-sama in person."

"Oh, and..." Hotaru continued. "...Try to be more quiet next time. My ears are sharper than most, but anyone within range could've heard the final parts of your, ah, private exchange with Yamazaki-san." With that she disappeared, leaving two slightly embarrassed ninja behind.

"Err... that was awkward," Karin stated after a few seconds. The Onikage nodded.

"I'm glad the Sakuraba clan's loyalty to me is absolute. That would be perfect blackmail material..." he added with a sweatdrop. After a few more seconds, they both shrugged and hurried to Konoha's gates.

**1234567890**

"Waaah! I'm latelatelatelatelate!"

Naruto frantically scrambled across his apartment, hastily gathering a bunch of clothes to get dressed. He had overslept on the day of the Chuunin Exams, of all times! Thank God Ino had dropped by to pick him up, or he'd still be sleeping. _Maybe buying a new alarm clock would be a good idea_, he thought as he shot a dirty look at the shattered remains of the old one.

Ino sighed as she watched her teammate's panicked actions, then walked up to him, unceremoniously tore the clothes he had gathered out of his hands and tossed them on the floor. As Naruto opened his mouth to protest, she silenced him with a death glare, then shoved a bag she had brought along with her in his arms.

"Here," she muttered in an exasperated tone, "Team 4 and I went shopping yesterday to pick more adequate outfits for the Exams. According to a rumor they heard, part of the test will involve moving in a forest, so we took the liberty of choosing an outfit for you that doesn't, you know, scream 'I'm here, kill me!' to anything with functioning eyes in a two-miles radius from you."

Naruto blinked, then opened the bag and fished its content out: an exact replica of his usual outfit, except it was brown and dark green instead of orange. He looked at Ino with an outraged expression, but she glared at him again, quashing any protests before he could voice them.

"You. Will. Wear. That," she hissed. "I don't care if orange is your favorite color. I fully intend to pass this exam, and if it means forcing you to wear something you don't like to make us less conspicuous, so be it. Now _MOVE_."

Naruto yelped as her voice raised an octave at the last word and her glare intensified, then scrambled away and took refuge in the bathroom, in part to get dressed and in part to escape his teammate's wrath. Ino snorted, then sighed and sat down on a nearby chair, feeling slightly tired.

As the kunoichi relaxed, her gaze wandered over Naruto's apartment, and her face scrunched up in disgust at how messy it was. _I'll have to come over and help him tidy up this dump one of these days_, she thought. Then her gaze fell on the remains of the door she had unceremoniously bashed in when she came to fetch Naruto and she felt slightly guilty. _I'll have to pay him back for that, too_, she added, cursing her short temper. Then again, it was also Naruto's fault for sleeping in.

Following an impulse, Ino got up and began tidying the place up, putting all the dirty clothing in one place and trashing several milk containers who had obviously expired, along with spent ramen cups and moldy bread. _Ew, how can he eat this crap and not get sick?_ she thought with another grimace. Perhaps she'd have to teach him how to cook too.

As she finished throwing the trash away, Naruto came out of the bathroom. She cast a quick look at him and nodded approvingly: the outfit that she and the Marsh girls picked for him fit like a glove. Not for the first time, she marveled at how precise Kagura was: she had chosen the exact right size for Naruto without even needing to take his measures.

"I'm ready, Ino-chan... huh? Hey, you cleaned up? Thank you!" the blonde boy said, blinking in surprise at how noticeably less messy his home was after Ino had taken time to get rid of the useless stuff. Ino merely shook her head.

"Naruto, you need to learn how to care for your apartment," she chided him as she picked up the door she had broken. "I've seen garbage dumps look better than this. Now help me put the door back up... after the tests are over I'll have it fixed, but for now it'll have to do. Not that there's much to steal here," she added under her breath.

The two genin hastily put the door back up, then quickly left for the meeting place for all Chuunin candidates. As they sped away, they failed to notice two figures hiding near Naruto's house...

**1234567890**

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata Hyuuga murmured, watching the blonde boy dart away with the young Yamanaka girl. The shy dark-haired girl had been very upset upon finding out that Naruto had not only grown uncomfortably close to Ino, but was also constantly surrounded by four unknown women who'd escorted him back from the Wave Country.

Furthermore, over the last few days she had been unable to get very close to Naruto-kun, as at least one of the Marsh women was always with him, and she'd often discovered them staring straight in her direction, as if they knew she was here. It unnerved her - something was off about those women, and it worried her. Was Naruto-kun really safe around them?

As she moved to follow him, she froze, and spun around, activating her Byakugan. A massive shadow suddenly loomed over her, and she looked up, finding herself face to face with one of the Marsh kunoichi - the tall, bandaged one. She squeaked. She'd seen her fight Naruto-kun in training, and if what she witnessed was any indication, she had better chances of taking out Neji-niisan in combat than she had of even slowing this one down.

The kunoichi looked down at her and arched an eyebrow. "...so it was you who's been spying on Uzumaki-sama in the past few weeks?" she asked in a low voice. "What is it you are after?"

Hinata blushed and started fidgeting. This woman certainly went straight to the point! "Umm... I..." she stammered. The woman's eyes narrowed.

"...are you a stalker?" she inquired. Hinata nearly collapsed, aghast.

"A s-s-s-stalker? No! I-I just wanted to see Naruto-kun... that is, I... umm..." she hesitated, suddenly aware that she might have said too much already. The other kunoichi's eyes lit up in understanding.

"Ah! I see. You too are vying for Uzumaki-sama's affection."

At that, Hinata blushed horribly and panicked. Was she going to tell Naruto-kun about her behavior? She squirmed as the tall woman examined her with a critical eye.

"...what makes you think you are worthy of Uzumaki-sama?" she asked bluntly. Hinata grimaced.

"I... umm... I'm sorry," she croaked, feeling tears come to her eyes. "I know I'm weak, shy and pitiful. But... ever since I was small, I've looked up to Naruto-kun. I know it's an impossible dream, but... I'd be so very happy if he noticed me..."

"Nonsense," the kunoichi snapped, startling Hinata. At her questioning look, she continued speaking in a lower, gentler tone.

"You may think of yourself as weak, but you were good enough that only Kagura, whose skill is closer to a jounin than a genin, managed to notice your presence. Jun and I only found you after she told us of you." She shook her head. "You are better than what you give yourself credit for. You just lack confidence. That is probably why Uzumaki-sama is not aware of your feelings."

"P-please don't tell him! It'd be so embarrassing..."

The kunoichi gave her an odd look. "Do you find your love... shameful?" Hinata blinked. The question was rather unexpected.

"Um... n-no... but... I'm just not good enough for him..."

"Do you truly love him?" the Marsh girl interrupted her. Hinata nodded fiercely.

"Y-yes! Of course! I..."

"Would you die for him?" the kunoichi interrupted her again. Hinata blinked, then immediately nodded.

"...Yes!"

"...then you are good enough. All you need is confidence. Don't you think so, Kagura, Jun?" she called out. Hinata heard light footsteps behind her and turned around, finding the other two Marsh kunoichi standing behind her. She blinked - she hadn't felt their presence at all until now.

"Yeah. A backbone is about all she's lacking. Right, Kagura?" the disheveled-looking girl, whom Hinata guessed was Jun, nodded. The quiet, cool-looking one smiled slightly.

"She reminds me a bit of how you were, Maki. You just would not let anyone near you, though in your case it was out of fear of causing them harm, not shyness..."

Hinata turned to the girl named Maki, who nodded gently to her, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"I am Maki Yamazaki, kunoichi of Sawagakure. What is your name?"

"I-I am... H-Hinata," the young Hyuuga stammered, cautiously examining the three Marsh kunoichi. "Hinata Hyuuga."

"Hinata... 'tis a good name," Kagura murmured, gently taking the shy girl's hand. "Come. We are late for the Chuunin Exams, and I would speak to you on the way."

The young Hyuuga heiress hesitated, then nodded, and the odd quartet of women left the area around Naruto's house, following the young genin's trail to the Academy's grounds.

At this time, Hinata didn't know yet, but this encounter would dramatically change her life...

**1234567890**

Oblivious to the events unfolding behind them, Naruto and Ino sped away to the Chuunin Exam's location. Along the way, they ran into a small commotion and stopped to see what it was about.

"Hmm? Ino-chan, where do you think these ninja come from?" Naruto asked her as he observed a group of four foreigners - three men and a woman, accompanied by a large gray wolf - walk in the same direction as them. Ino took a look at the strangers' forehead protectors and blinked in disbelief.

"What the...? They're Tsukigakure ninja," she said. "They're known as a mercenary country, and never entered the Chuunin Exams before. This is very strange..."

"Oh. Uh, why is a samurai here?" Naruto continued, looking somewhere past the four Moon nin. Ino followed his gaze and nearly choked.

"T-that's Tairo Masakado, warlord of Tsukigakure! This is definitely an exceptional event," she whispered. "Not only is Tsukigakure entering the Exams, but their equivalent of the Hokage is paying Konoha a visit. I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Why is that, Ino-chan? They don't look hostile to me, especially the girl with closed eyes over there."

Ino looked at the girl Naruto had pointed out. "A sword user...? That's unusual," she wondered. "Even so, if she's entering the Chuunin Exams, she has to be good. We might need to keep an eye on these people..."

Ino quickly scanned the four ninja in an attempt to commit their looks to memory. The oldest of the four, who was probably their jounin instructor, had a slightly feral look about him and appeared to be talking with the huge wolf walking beside him. _Related to the Inuzuka clan, perhaps?_ she wondered idly.

Another one was a tall young man dressed in black. A pair of strange weapons, some sort of bladed tonfa, hung from his belt. Somehow, Ino got the impression that this man was not to be underestimated. A familiar dark feeling came from him... a feeling much like the one Sasuke gave off, she realized after a moment.

The third man was a blonde with green eyes. He carried no apparent weapons, which made Ino suspicious. He probably had some sort of concealed weapon.

Finally, there was the girl. Dressed in a black-and-red form-fitting outfit, she wore her forehead protector around the neck at the moment. A kodachi hung from her hips, and her long green hair reached halfway down her back. While she appeared to be perfectly aware of her surroundings, she also looked more alert than usual, and she never once opened her eyes. _Maybe she's blind?_ Ino thought. _If that's the case she must be phenomenally skilled to make up for it..._

"Hm, they look like they can cover for each other's weaknesses," Ino commented as she resumed walking and motioned for Naruto to follow. "We could learn a few things from them..."

"Speaking of learning, Ino-chan, where have you been disappearing to lately? You skipped several training lessons..." Naruto inquired curiously. "You didn't train to gain a kickass new jutsu without me, did you?"

Ino sighed, shaking her head. While Naruto seemed to have become less dense recently, he was still obsessed with 'cool' jutsu and had been nagging her to teach him the _monju_ technique. Eventually he gave up on that after realizing he lacked the chakra control necessary to properly form a _monju_ without blowing up in the process, but from time to time he still asked her if she had learned any jutsu she'd share with him.

"As a matter of fact, Hokage-sama and I did work on a jutsu, as well as my battle form," she noded, lowering her voice as she kept walking. "By the way, Naruto, let me assure you the Hokage is _not_ a washed up old fossil. He managed to beat... the other me... in the ground despite her superior power... he may be old, but he still seriously kicks ass."

Naruto looked at her in surprise. "Huh, so the old pervert is strong? Surprising..."

"...pervert? Wait, perish the thought. I don't really want to know," Ino grimaced. "At any rate, we devised a new jutsu, all right, but it's still imperfect and I somewhat doubt you can use it... it's a variation of the Shintenshin which lets me give control to you-know-who... well I _could_ teach it to you, but do you really want to allow a grumpy bitter homicidal furball to run rampant on whoever is closest to him?"

Naruto grimaced as he felt something shift angrily within him. Ever since the events in the Wave Country, he had become more conscious of the Kyuubi within him and found that occasionally he could experience his feelings and, in rare cases, hear him mutter darkly. He never attempted to speak to him so far, though. Truth be told, even after learning of his motives, the demon fox still scared him.

"Um, Ino, I don't think he's happy about you calling him that..." Naruto cautioned her. Ino just shot him a look that plainly said 'I don't care'.

The pair kept walking a little longer, chatting about the exam and how it would be, until they reached the compound the test would be held in. As they approached the building's doors, they heard familiar voices call out to them. Turning around to greet the Marsh kunoichi, Naruto was surprised to see an oddly familiar figure walking beside them. He walked up to the quartet of girls and looked at the petite dark-haired girl who was in their company, who promptly blushed and hid behind Maki's massive frame.

"...hey, aren't you that shy weirdo... Hinata, wasn't it?" he inquired, causing all the girls to facefault. "What're you doing with Maki-chan and the others?"

"Uh... um, I-I..." Hinata stuttered, trying her hardest to look small and unimportant. Maki sighed in exasperation. She could tell that it'd take a long time before Hinata gained the confidence she so desperately needed.

"We ran into this girl on the way here," the tall kunoichi explained. "I was bored, so I decided to talk with her."

"...that sounds a lot like a really stupid excuse..." Ino muttered, glancing at Maki. The huge Marsh girl looked at her questioningly, eyebrows raised.

"Are you implying I can't be bored?" she asked. Ino quickly shook her head.

"No, no, just... ah, forget it. Say, did you see those guys back there?" the blonde kunoichi motioned towards the way she and Naruto came from.

"We did not stop to find out what the commotion was all about, but if you are referring to the Hidden Moon representatives, we heard about them from Rin-sensei," Kagura replied, stepping up.

"Yeah, that's who I was talking about," Ino nodded. "Looks like an odd bunch... they're probably really strong."

"Probably. The Hidden Moon's ninja are known for being above average in general," the Marsh girl calmly agreed, straightening her kimono's sleeves. "There really is no point in worrying about them this early, though. We will cross that bridge once we reach it. For now, focus on the trials at hand."

"Yeah..." Ino nodded. Suddenly Naruto lightly elbowed her in the ribs, drawing her attention.

"Hey, look, Ino-chan. Sasuke-bastard's here," the blonde boy shouted, earning himself a glare from the aforementioned Uchiha.

"Shut up, dead last. I woke up with a headache, so spare me your loud remarks," he growled, then his eyes narrowed as he looked at Naruto more closely. "Say... don't you usually wear orange?"

"Well, he's not wearing any orange until _I_ say so, Sasuke. Any questions?" Ino stated acidly, slightly pissed at how no one had actually complimented the clothes she had chosen herself. The raven-haired boy shuddered and hastily backed off. When Ino started talking in that tone, you didn't talk back. You just _didn't_.

"Ah...!" Hinata gasped, drawing the group's attention. "That's Shino-kun over here. Sorry, I have to go... my team's waiting for me." Turning around, she spared a last glance and a timid smile for Naruto, then sped off without looking back.

"...isn't that the Hyuuga clan's heiress, Hinata?" Sasuke asked, surprised. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, she ran into Maki and the others, and they chatted a bit..."

"...whatever. Let's get moving. We're late enough as is," the Uchiha shrugged, dismissing the incident.

The six genin made their way in the building. They were quickly directed to their test room, on the third floor. As they made their way there, however, they ran into a large commtion outside one of the doors. A lot of genin were gathered around two chuunin who were blocking the way in a room, and apparently some sort of argument was going on. A girl with black hair tied in buns on her head stepped forward, crouching next to a boy with a bowl cut, extremely thick eyebrows and dressed in a rather gaudy green spandex outfit. Ino stuck her tongue out in mock disgust.

"Ew, what horrid fashion sense," she commented. "What's going on anyway...?"

"No clue," Naruto replied.

"Please, let us through," the girl with the hair buns pleaded to one of the two Chuunin, a creepy man with a few bandages running across his face. The Chuunin smirked, shaking his head.

"Sorry, pretty lady, no can do," he replied. "Trust me, we're doing you a favor."

"Yeah," the other Chuunin nodded. "We're saving your worthless lives. This isn't a game, and you're likely to die if you mess up. Just go home and quit playing ninja, all of you. It's for your own good."

"Ugh..." the boy in green groaned. The girl gave him a concerned look.

"Are you all right, Lee?" she asked. The boy nodded.

"I'll be fine, Tenten. I just need to catch my breath, that's all. It'll take more than that to fell Konoha's proud Green Beast!" he replied, flashing her a bright grin and a thumbs-up. Tenten shook her head.

"Men and their macho ways. Ugh..." she muttered.

"Excuse me. You are in the way. If you would be so kind as to move..." a new voice interjected, causing everyone to turn towards the stairs it had come from. The three Moon ninja stood there, watching the crowd.

"As I said, you all should just go home. We're not letting you in for your own good..." the bandaged Chuunin explained with a theatrical sigh, but was promptly interrupted by the strange Moon kunoichi with closed eyes, who walked right past him with a nod.

" I understand. I am not interested in entering that room anyway. I have to reach the third floor's classroom," she explained briefly. Everyone, including her teammates, blinked at her.

"Um, Arisa... _this_ is the Chuunin Exams' classroom... what are you talking about?" her blond companion cautiously explained. Arisa raised an eyebrows, her eyes still closed.

"Unless I am mistaken, the Chuunin Exam organizers downstairs told us 'Third floor, Room 302'. Am I correct, Hatori?" she stated.

"Yes, and that is Room 302. It clearly says so." Hatori nodded.

"Then someone marked it wrong. I counted the sets of stairs we climbed. This is the second floor," Arisa replied without missing a beat. She then turned slightly towards the two Chuunin and smiled coolly. "By the way, you two might want to re-take Genjutsu class. That illusion you enveloped the whole floor with is extremely poorly made and will never trick anyone who has the common sense to not completely trust his or her eyesight... though, judging by how many fell for such an obvious trick, almost everyone here forgot to connect his brain to the rest of the body before acting. Is counting how many floors one climbs that hard? ...anyway, let us go, Shizumaru, Hatori. We have wasted enough time as it is."

With those words the kunoichi turned around and briskly walked towards the next set of stairs, followed by her two companions, with Hatori looking visibly embarrassed. Most of the genin standing before the door felt the same embarrassment as well, and there was an awkward moment of complete silence as they guiltily stole glances at each other before the crowd finally broke up and headed for the next floor.

As the last genin disappeared up the stairs, the two Chuunin looked at each other.

"...why do I feel like I just got owned, Kotetsu?"

"If it's any consolation to you, Izumo, I feel the same way."

"...I'll need to get drunk after this is over."

"I'll keep you company..."

**1234567890**

"...ouch," Sasuke groaned as he nursed a large bruise on his chin. Ino looked at him and shook her head.

"That's what you get for overly relying on that Sharingan thing of yours and mindlessly accepting challenges from unknown boys," she said. The raven-haired boy grimaced.

"But that Lee guy was really good, Ino-chan," Naruto uncharacteristically defended Sasuke. "I don't think any of us could've defeated him..."

"Moritsuna-san could probably have pulled it off," Sasuke grudgingly admitted. "She's currently the only one among us who could even hope to keep up with that Lee."

"Hogwash," Kagura replied. "Train yourself more and you will be fine. I am convinced you can be as good, if not better, than that boy. But that is only if you stop relying on your eye bloodline to carry you through every fight. You have been overusing it in training since you came back from the Wave Country... your Sharingan is a very powerful Bloodline Limit, I will grant you that, and getting used to it is a smart move, but it is NOT a be-all, end-all technique. In the ninja world, there are no shortcuts to greatness... everything and everyone can be defeated one way or the other, no matter how invincible they may appear to be. Keep that in mind."

"...no shortcuts to greatness... whatever. To accomplish my life's goal, I would do anything, be it taking a shortcut or not..." he muttered. Kagura merely shook her head.

"...do as you like," she concluded.

As Team 4 and Team 7 reached and entered Room 302, they looked around in amazement.

"Wow, I didn't pay attention before, but there's a lot of people entering the Chuunin Exams," Naruto commented.

"Yeah, this is going to be fun. Just don't get your ass kicked, all right?" Ino replied with a smirk, causing the other blonde to frown.

"What! I'm going to do better than you! Just you watch!" he shouted back, then turned to the rest of the room and held his fist up. "In fact, I'm going to do better than all of you! Believe it, now!"

Sasuke groaned as he felt several hostile stares fixing themselves on him. "Shut up, dumbass. We don't need to make enemies even before the exam begins..."

"_Sasuke-kuuuuuuun!_" a shrill voice was heard, causing Sasuke to stiffen visibly and Ino to snort derisively. The group turned around to see a pink haired girl run towards them.

"Great, here comes Sakura. I should've known Big Forehead would show up sooner or later to do her best impression of a leech," Ino said in a mocking tone as Sakura latched herself on Sasuke, who desperately struggled to get her off him. The pink-haired genin shot her an angry glare.

"Shut up, Ino-pig! You didn't molest Sasuke-kun while I wasn't looking, did you?" she spat angrily. Ino choked and gave her a disgusted look.

"_Molest?_ I am _not_ you, Big Forehead! If you want Sasuke that much, he's all yours!" she replied in a peeved tone, causing Sasuke to glare at her.

"Thank you _very much_ for feeding me to her like that. What am I, chopped liver?" he muttered darkly, still struggling against the deathgrip Sakura had him in. His angry glare then shifted from Ino to Naruto, who was on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. "And shut up, you!"

"So you admit defeat in the face of my superior brains and beauty, Ino-pig? That's wonderful!" Sakura chirped mockingly. "Come on, Sasuke-kun. Let's dump the losers and go somewhere to talk while we wait..."

"_What did you say?_" Ino exploded at Sakura's insulting remark. "Be careful at night when there's no moon, because if I catch you alone I'll make sure your name changes from Big Forehead to Toothless Wonder!"

"Oh, you want to fight? Bring it on, Ino-pig!" Sakura replied aggressively, disentangling herself from Sasuke, who took the chance to scurry to safety behind the Marsh kunoichi, who watched the scene in amusement.

"Excuse me, you two. Could you keep it down? What you are doing right now may prove very hazardous to your health..." a smooth voice interjected, causing everyone to turn towards its source.

Said source was a young bespectacled man with short grey hair, wearing a nondescript ninja uniform and a Konoha hitai-ate. He smiled in a friendly fashion and pointed behind the group of Konoha and Sawa genin. "Look behind you," he advised.

The seven genin did so and sweatdropped as they found themselves face to face with a trio of extremely creepy Hidden Rain ninja who were glaring at them while giving off a strong murderous intent. It was obvious that the racket caused by Sakura and Ino had pissed them off, as their angry stares were mostly fixed on the two kunoichi, who wilted under the hostility coming from them.

"They're representatives from the Hidden Rain, and they're a bit edgy about their first Chuunin Exam, so I would suggest not irking them any further," the newcomer explained smoothly. "Why don't we move over there to talk? By the way, I'm Kabuto Yakushi of the Hidden Leaf. This is my seventh Chuunin Exam."

"Seventh? Wow, you've got some experience then," Naruto commented as they moved away from the angry Rain trio. Kabuto nodded.

"Yeah, you could say that. In fact, I've got some interesting information about most of the participants from last year, as well as some of the rookies," he said. "Though, your three Marsh friends here are notable exceptions," he added.

"Sorry, we of the Marsh prefer to keep to ourselves," Jun said with a shrug, not looking apologetic at all. Kagura and Maki nodded in agreement.

"Ah, it's fine. Well... I like you, so I'll share some information with you about the others, if you wish..."

"...do you have information about Gaara of the Desert?" Ino suddenly asked, causing Sasuke and Naruto to shoot her an odd look.

"Gaara of the Desert, eh?" Kabuto said, producing a deck of odd-looking cards. "Let me see..."

"...you use cards to store information about people?" Maki said, interested. "Interesting. They look like they are charged with chakra. How does it work?"

"Sorry, professional secret," Kabuto smiled, winking. Maki snorted.

"Are we in there too?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yes, of course," Kabuto replied, producing three cards and laying them down. Naruto, Sasuke and Ino looked closely at them. Naruto chuckled lightly upon reading Ino's card. _This is so outdated it isn't funny_, he thought. He then glanced at his own and frowned. _I'm not that dumb, dammit!_

"Ah, here is Gaara's card," Kabuto continued, placing a card on the ground. Naruto examined it, confused.

"Hey, this is mostly empty," he pointed out. Kabuto nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid I have little to no information about him, since he's from another village," he replied. "His mission completion report is impressive, though. He's completed an undisclosed amount of D-rank mission, eight C-rank ones and a B-rank one. Having a successful B-rank mission is impressive for a genin. Other than that, all I know is that he allegedly returned from all his missions without a scratch."

"Hmmm..." Ino nodded, thoughtful. "This one is a really tough cookie..."

"Can I see information about Rock Lee of the Leaf?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto nodded and drew another card.

"Here it is... hm, he has a lot of experience. Twenty D-rank missions and eleven C-rank missions. He's an expert at hand-to-hand combat, but had no progress whatsoever in the other arts in the last year. He's considered a high-level genin, but didnt participate in last year's Chuunin Exams," Kabuto said. "His teammates are Neji Hyuuga, last year's number one rookie, and Tenten, a weapons expert."

"I see..." Sasuke said. _That explains why he's so good at taijutsu... he concentrates on it instead of growing evenly in all categories._

"...may I ask about someone, too?" Kagura suddenly spoke up. Kabuto looked briefly at her, then nodded.

"Whose information do you want?"

"A Hidden Moon genin named Arisa. And if possible, her teammates," Kagura replied.

"Ah, them... those three are pretty infamous. I'm surprised you never heard of them." Kabuto said as he shuffled his deck. He searched for a card, placing it on the ground, then whistled.

"Wow, this girl is a monster. No abilities whatsoever in genjutsu and ninjutsu, but her taijutsu is reportedly off the scale and her innate abilities are extremely high too," he commented, reading the card. "She's been blind since birth, but has extremely sharp senses to compensate for her lack of sight. She fights with a sword and is an expert at infiltration and spying... wow, look at that mission report!"

"...thirty-four D-rank missions, twenty-nine C-rank and five B-rank? How is she still a genin?" Sasuke murmured in shock.

"Well, the Hidden Moon has its own personal ranking... but mostly, it's just because neither her nor her teammates ever felt the need to increase their status. I expect them to crush most of the opposition this year... they're in a completely different class than anyone else here," Kabuto explained. "By the way, her teammates share the same mission record with her. They've been a team since Day One, in no small part thanks to them being friends since childhood and already having excellent teamwork."

"Hm, what about her companions?" Sasuke asked, filing every bit of information on the card away for later use. Kabuto fished two more cards out.

"Shizumaru Hagiri, genius of the Hagiri clan and one of the few who do not possess the Hagiri bloodline," he said, reading from the card. "He apparently fights using techniques based on shadows, but not much else is known..."

"Shadows? Like me?" a new voice interrupted. Ino looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Shikamaru," she greeted her old friend, who was, as usual, accompanied by Chouji. "How's it going? I'm glad to see you survived Pinky's wrath."

"Who are you calling Pinky!" Sakura growled, glaring at her. Shikamaru sighed.

"How troublesome... could you tell me more about this individual, please?" he asked, looking at the card with a great deal of interest.

"Of course," Kabuto nodded. "Unfortunately, all I know is that he reportedly uses some kind of shadow jutsu. No one has ever seen it... well, no one alive, at any rate."

"...Is what's written on his profile true?" Sasuke asked in shock as he kept reading. Kabuto nodded again.

"Yes," he said. "Funny how much you two have in common, eh? According to my informators, Shizumaru and his elder sister, Akari Hagiri, have been at odds ever since Akari murdered the head of the Hagiri clan, as well as an undisclosed amount of Hagiri clansmen, as retaliation for having one of her eyes ripped out in punishment for practicing some undefined forbidden arts. The Hagiri clan head was her own father, too, as well as Shizumaru's and their other brother, Hatori's."

"...I see..." Sasuke murmured. "Do go on."

"Not much else to be said," the bespectacled genin replied. "Shizumaru swore bloody revenge on her, and has been known to lose his usually calm demeanor and fly into fits of insane rage if Akari is even mentioned to him. There's no doubt in my mind that if he came across her, he'd do his very best to kill her, regardless of how many bystanders get caught between them. And Akari isn't the type to worry about killing innocents at all, so... it could get pretty ugly."

"T... that's terrible," Hinata's voice interrupted the conversation. Naruto looked up and saw the shy Hyuuga standing besides the little group formed by his, Sakura and Maki's teams, along with her teammates - the feral-looking Kiba Inuzuka and the quiet, eerie Shino Aburame.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed with Hinata. "That girl must've been a loony to overreact like that over what'd be well-deserved punishment..."

"Well, that about covers it for Shizumaru Hagiri. As for Hatori Hagiri..." Kabuto continued, shifting his card to the center. "He's the heir to the Hagiri clan, a genius almost on par with his brother. Within Hidden Moon ranks, he's known as 'Raitei', which is the name of his Bloodline Limit. He can charge his body with enough electricity to reduce a normal man to ashes."

"Wow... that one is dangerous..." Kiba commented. Kabuto nodded at him.

"He hates unnecessary killing, but he has no qualms about frying people into paralysis if the mission requires it," he explained. "And he has no problem mutilating people with his weapon of choice - a set of extremely sharp metal wires csapable of cutting through solid stone."

"...hmm. An excellent choice of weapon. If needed, he can channel his electricity through it for added power..." Shikamaru commented.

"He appears to be much more level-headed than his brother. That makes him more dangerous, as he's less likely to lose his calm and make stupid mistakes," Sasuke added. Ino and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"I would advise not engaging those three if for any reason whatsoever we run into them," Kagura commented. "They are not normal genin, that is for sure..."

An explosion and a cloud of smoke coming from the front of the class interrupted Kabuto. The Marsh girls and Team 7 tensed up and reached for their weapons, but relaxed as the smoke revealed a bunch of gruff men wearing Konoha hitai-ate. One of them, a heavily scarred man wearing a trenchcoat, began yelling at everyone in the room.

"Fall in, maggots!" he bellowed, glaring at all the presents. "This isn't a picnic! It's an important test that will determine what direction your lives will take... assuming you live through it in the first place!"

"I like that guy. See you later, Uzumaki-sama," Jun whispered with a malicious grin, turning around and leaving to find a seat along with her companions. Naruto nodded to her, then his attention shifted back to the scarred man, who had resumed shouting, and he began to look for a seat himself.

"Now, listen carefully!" the man continued. "I am Ibiki Morino, and this is the first test you'll undergo to determine whether or not you are fit to be a Chuunin instead of a worthless weakling! I'll explain the rules, so listen up and listen up good, because I won't repeat myself. And if anyone interrupts me, they'll be sorry, is that clear?"

As Naruto sat down, he grimaced. He could already tell that this would be a long day indeed.

**1234567890**

(A/N: Done, finally! Yes, I know that I left out the Hidden Sound trio's attack on Kabuto. I had my own reasons. Next chapter will feature some more Akatsuki, as well as more Basara (notice how she's basically absent from this chapter... I decided to give more space to others.

Before I go, one more thing. I'm going to set up a forum here on FFNet for those who want to give me feedback on this fic. It may be a little presumptuous of me to assume any of you want to post there, but I'd like to keep answering any questions that may pop up in your mind, and wth FFNet forbidding review replies in the fics, that's the best I can do.

At any rate, I'M BAAACK! Hope you liked this chapter... I had to struggle to get it out before New Year, and hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Later, all!)


	16. Chapter 14: The Forest of Death

(A/N: Here I am again, with another exciting (?) chapter of Twisted Fates. I've been having a hard time writing this, until I reached a decision - to completely disregard manga canon. If something isn't the same as it's supposed to be in the manga, then feel free to point it out, but chances are it was an intentional change. You'll see soon enough what I mean.

That said... we switch POVs briefly to Onikage and the Hidden Moon's _daishogun_, Tairo Masakado, as they meet the Third Hokage. Then we see how our genin are handling the written test held by Ibiki. And past that... the Forest of Death! Hehehe... Enjoy!)

DISCLAIMER:

Naruto and all its characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The concept of _monju_ comes from Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a manga by Shiina Takashi. The character of Kazuki Maeda is a creation of The Wretched from GameFAQs. All other original characters are my creations.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Many thanks to:

**The Wretched** from GameFAQs for checking the names of my new jutsu, suggesting effects, character bios and a heck of a lot more... my single greatest contributor. Without you this fic would probably be a lot slower than it is, man;

**Hunter Sopko** from GameFAQs for suggestions on the story, new jutsu and the OC's personality;

**TheHomelessGuy** and **TG Cloud** from GameFAQs for feedback on my OCs and suggestions for jutsu;

**Tsukinosakura** and **RurouniGochan** from the RKDreams forums for more proofreading;

**Ice Dragon XXI** for EVEN MORE proofreading;

The posters over at **The Fanfiction Forums** for helpful hints;

**Several other people** who contributed opinions (you know who you are!)

And thanks to **YOU** for reading this fic, of course!

("This" is speech. _Italics_ are thought. Words in **bold** indicate Basara speaking and/or communicating with Ino. 1**234567890** indicates a scene/perspective change. _Underlined locations in italics_ are a location change.)

**1234567890**

_**Chapter 14: The Forest Of Death**_

_Konohagakure, Hokage's office_

The Third Hokage laid down the documents he was working over as someone knocked on his office's door. "Come in," he said, straightening himself in his chair.

The door opened, revealing an ANBU in a tiger mask, who quickly walked up to his desk and bowed curtly.

"Hokage-sama, your guests are here," the ANBU said in a respectful tone. "_Daishogun_ Masakado of the Hidden Moon and the Hidden Marsh's Onikage are talking to each other in the waiting room. Should I send them in one at a time or...?"

"Send them both in together," Sarutobi instructed. "I would like to hear them both at once, and it would not do to make it seem like I'm favoring one of them by seeing him first in private. Plus, they must be tired from the journey... the sooner we get formalities out of the way, the sooner our guests can rest."

"Understood," the ANBU nodded. With another short bow, he left the room. Sarutobi quickly checked to make sure he was presentable: looking worn out or unkempt would not make for a very good first impression.

As soon as the Hokage was done smoothing his robes, the door opened again and the tiger-masked ANBU came in, leading four people in the room. The ANBU bowed curtly to Sarutobi, then to the guests, and finally left, quietly closing the door on the way out. Sarutobi motioned for his guests - two men and two women - to sit down and cleared his throat as he observed them.

The nobly dressed, if slightly aged, figure of Tairo Masakado was familiar to the Hokage, as he had the pleasure of fighting alongside him a couple times in the past. The man didn't look very threatening: he stood at five feet and nine inches of height, had short grey hair, a mullet and piercing brown eyes, and while his slim body was obviously in good shape, it didn't look particularly muscular. Of course, muscles were of little importance when one was a swordmaster of the Moon warlord's caliber. Sarutobi was well aware of Masakado's skill with a sword - he was one of the few samurai whose skill made him more fearsome than any ninja. Sarutobi idly noticed that Masakado had brought along his infamous Wo Dao sword - a blade rumored to have belonged to a bloodthirsty ronin known only as the 'Sword Demon', whom Masakado fought and defeated in his youth.

Sarutobi's eyes then shifted to the diminuitive woman standing behind the warlord, and he raised an eyebrow. _This must be the bodyguard he said would be escorting him. What was her name again... Ageha? Yes, Ageha_, he thought, observing her. She looked innocuous enough, wearing a loose, revealing kimono and standing in a lazy pose, apparently relaxed, but the way her eyes occasionally darted around made it obvious she was alert and ready to spring into action. Sarutobi guessed that the kunoichi was one of those who relied on their body as their sole weapon, and concluded that the small woman probably had some nasty trick up her sleeve for when seduction didn't quite cut it. The Hokage blinked briefly as he observed her face. For a moment, he could've sworn her eyes had... _streaks_ in them. He blinked again, then decided his sight must have been playing tricks on him.

Turning to the Hidden Marsh pair, his gaze was immediately drawn to the tallest of the two figures, and for good reason. _This must be a relative of the young Yamazaki_, he thought as he regarded the huge cloaked figure standing behind the Onikage. While the figure's gender was hard to guess, he concluded by its posture that it must have been female. The woman wore just as many bandages as Maki, if not more, and was even taller, towering over everyone in the room from the height of her seven feet and four inches. Tufts of unkempt greyish-green hair popped out of the bandages wrapping her head, and the Hokage briefly caught a glimpse of her purple pupils before breaking eye contact with the kunoichi. Unlike Maki, this woman's frame was thick and muscular. Sarutobi shivered involuntarily. If her strength was proportional to the young one's, she could probably take out a ten-stories building with a single blow.

Finally, his gaze fell on the fabled Onikage... and he sharply inhaled, his heart skipping a beat.

The Hidden Marsh's leader looked just like Orochimaru.

**1234567890**

"Gah. Stupid written test. I suck at these," Naruto muttered, glaring at the paper in front of him.

It had become quickly obvious even to him that these questions were way too hard for any Genin to answer when even Hinata, seated beside him, started using her Byakugan to copy them off someone else. She had also shyly offered to let him copy, but he declined when he had noticed a Chuunin look at them with a smirk, not wanting to get her in trouble for his sake. However, he was now slightly stumped as to how to get through the test without getting his team eliminated.

Cheating was not an option. He just _knew_ he'd get caught. And then both Sasuke and Ino would flay him alive. _My life sucks_, he sulked, grimacing at the test sheet.

Suddenly, his head started spinning, and he felt weak. Then, he fell into darkness.

**1234567890**

Basara watched as Naruto's body, now controlled by Ino, began to furiously scribble the answers on the test sheet, a surprised Hinata glancing at the blonde boy with an interrogative expression. She sighed, and idly observed the other Chuunin hopefuls in the test room, noticing the creative ways in which they were copying from others.

Tenten of Team 10 had set up a series of mirrors on the ceiling, which allowed her to keep the entire room under control and copy the correct answers from whoever drew her attention first. Sasuke Uchiha simply used his Sharingan to outright imitate the movements of one of the Chuunin posing as Genin scattered across the room. _I have to give it to this Morino Ibiki, he's... creative... in his testing_, she thought with a smirk.

Both Neji and Hinata Hyuuga were simply using their Byakugan to directly read the answers from others' papers. Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru Nara were actually answering the questions by themselves, as were Shizumaru and Hatori Hagiri. Arisa Hanada was apparently focusing her senses on a single person, using the sound of the pen on the paper to figure out the answers. _Impressive_, Basara thought with a raised eyebrow.

A slight commotion distracted her as yet another group of Genin was caught and kicked out, then she resumed observing.

Rock Lee was apparently copying off Tenten's mirrors. Maki Yamazaki... Basara stifled a laugh as she saw the massive kunoichi had noticed Tenten's mirrors too. She had angled her hitai-ate after polishing it to a shine, and was reading the answers off its reflection. _She's good at improvising. It's not all brute force_, she mused.

Kagura Moritsuna had already finished answering all questions, while Jun Rando and Gaara of the Desert both appeared to have used some sort of jutsu connecting their eyes to debris in the air. Basara grimaced as the unfortunate Genin Jun had used her jutsu on suddenly stood up, staggered and fainted, looking very green. _Poisoned_, she thought as the Chuunin observers reached the same conclusion and carted him and his team away. He would live. Probably.

She scanned the rest of the room, noticing various other cheating methods, then resumed focusing on Naruto.

He should have met his... tenant... by now, having had his soul submerged deep inside by Ino. Basara idly wondered how he was dealing with the Demon Fox. Then she shrugged. If she knew Naruto, he'd never let anyone intimidate him, least of all the Kyuubi. And if he was anywhere as loud and annoying in his mind as he was in real life...

She almost felt sorry for the fox.

**1234567890**

"Ugh, where am I?" Naruto groaned, slowly getting back on his feet. He shook his head in an attempt to ditch the leftovers of the sudden drowsiness that overcame him, then took a look at his surroundings. "Well, I'm not in Konoha anymore, that's for sure," he muttered.

He was in a large corridor that most resembled a sewer. Shallow water ran on the floor, and it was pretty dark. Oddly enough, he could see perfectly even with the lack of light. Naruto mentally counted his blessings that the place didn't smell as bad as a real sewer. It wasn't particularly dirty, but he'd gladly pass the experience up.

Naruto began to grow slightly unnerved as he noticed that the air around him kept changing direction at regular intervals - it'd blow against him, pause, then reverse direction and pull him in, pause again, and repeat. It was also warm. It almost felt like something breathing in the dark.

Something very, very large.

Naruto suddenly felt very edgy. Something felt wrong in the air. Barely repressed anger, hatred and spite resonated across the empty corridor, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

With no other choice, Naruto picked a direction and began walking, looking for an exit. _Is this another weird test by that creepy scarred Jounin?_, he wondered idly. _Genjutsu or something... Drat, how do I dispel genjutsu again? I knew I should've paid attention to that part of class..._

The blonde shinobi kept grumbling as he walked, failing to notice that his surroundings were growing progressively darker, until he stumbled into an almost solid wall of darkness when the corridor enlarged into a huge room. Looking up, he faintly made out the shape of something that looked like a bunch of pillars ahead.

As he approached the 'pillars', his feeling of impending danger suddenly sprang to life. Tensing up, he slowed down and cautiously moved near the objects in front of him. He idly noticed that the 'breathing' had grown much stronger: he was having a hard time staying on his feet when the air shifted.

As he came near enough to identify what was in front of him, he stopped. No pillars, these were. Rather, bars. Gigantic bars of an equally gigantic cage. Looking up, he saw a parchment drawn across the two central bars of the cell, with a somewhat familiar design painted on it. He couldn't help but notice that a small part of the scroll was burned - it was just a trace, a burn mark at the center of its top, but it was there. It somehow disturbed him.

**"What are you doing here, brat?"**

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin and plastered himself on the ceiling when the sudden voice boomed around him, amplified by the room. Frantically looking around, realization struck him as he saw a pair of gigantic, yellow-and-red eyes open in front of him and fixate a burning gaze of hatred and thirst for revenge on him.

"Oh shit..." he muttered. He knew where he was now. He was in his mind. In front of the seal.

He was in front of Kyuubi no Youko.

**1234567890**

"Is something wrong, Hokage-sama?" the Onikage inquired with a friendly smile as the Hidden Leaf's leader openly stared at him. The sound of the Marsh ninja's voice, so similar to that of his lost pupil and yet slightly different snapped Sarutobi out of his trance, and he realized upon closer inspecton that while the Onikage did look a lot like Orochimaru, there were differences that made it obvious he was a different person.

Like the eyes: Orochimaru's eyes were snake-like, cold and cruel. This man's were human, calm and collected. The Marsh Kage's figure was also, if possible, more gaunt and sickly looking than Orochimaru's had ever been. _He's obviously ill_, the Hokage thought as he saw yet more differences. The Onikage was slightly taller than Orochimaru, and when he spoke, his voice did not hold the telltale hiss that Orochimaru's voice had. Instead, it sounded like a rasp, as if the Marsh ninja was about to cough anytime. _Much like Hayate Gekkou_, Sarutobi noted.

"It's nothing, Onikage-sama," the Hokage responded with an apologetic bow of his head. "You just... reminded me of someone, that is all. An unpleasant memory at that..."

"Hm... is it about Orochimaru, Hokage-sama?" the Onikage asked with a knowing look in his eyes. Sarutobi's head snapped up.

"How did you..."

"I was told by a number of ninja in my village that I look like him," the thin man replied with a small chuckle. "Not surprising, seeing how we're related. Though I doubt even Orochimaru himself knows..."

"...related...?" Sarutobi cautiously questioned with a raised eyebrow. The Onikage nodded.

"My clan, the Sanada, and Orochimaru's mother's clan, the Amanagi, are related. My grandmother, Shizuko Amanagi, is Orochimaru's mother. She was exiled from the clan and left the Hidden Marsh entirely shortly before Orochimaru was born, due to her having illicit affairs with another man. We were aware that the child had been born regularly, and that both mother and child were taken in by the Hidden Leaf village shortly afterwards. Since his father is not a Sanada, Orochimaru lacks our cursed Bloodline Limit, but he shares the Amanagi looks, as did his half-brother - my own father - and as do I. That is why I look so much like him... the Amanagi genes are strong in both of us, in no small part because my father also married an Amanagi."

"I see... so Orochimaru and Shizuko-san were from the Hidden Marsh. Shizuko-san died of a sudden illness before she could tell me where she had come from, and she had no hitai-ate on herself, so we always assumed she wasn't a ninja..."

"She wasn't. The Amanagi are a civilian clan. They are herbalists, true, but have no skill whatsoever as shinobi, although they can make some pretty lethal poisons. They also are naturally skilled at genetic manipulation... from that point of view, Orochimaru follows in his clan's footsteps, or so I was told."

"Genetic what...?" Sarutobi asked with a slightly confused expression.

"Genetic manipulation," the Onikage explained. "It's the art of manipulating a creature's genes in order to make it stronger, faster, healthier and so on. It's still a rudimental art outside the Marsh, apparently... but to us it is a necessity. One does not survive long in the Marsh if his genetic stock isn't more than adequate. We've made an art out of necessity, is all... I will explain in more detail later, if you wish."

"That will be acceptable. I am very interested in what you say," Sarutobi nodded. "Now... shall we get to know each other a bit, Onikage-sama, Masakado-sama?"

"That can wait, Sarutobi," Masakado interrupted. "I came here because we are old friends, and I found some disturbing news you might be interested in."

"News, eh? Do tell, old friend," Sarutobi nodded. The Hidden Moon's _daishogun_ sighed and took a deep breath. "Well..."

**1234567890**

"Uhhhh..." Naruto intelligently said as he stared at the huge, inhuman eyes before him. Yes, he often wondered what the terrible Kyuubi no Youko looked like. That did _not_ mean he wanted to find out up close and personal. Naruto swallowed nervously. The Demon Fox was huge, and those bars holding it back suddenly seemed so _fragile_...

**"Hrrrm. So, what brings you here, human brat? Have you come to mock the great Kyuubi no Youko for being trapped in such a worthless husk as yourself?"** Kyuubi asked, not really interested in the answer. It was well aware of how Naruto had ended up here - an invasive mind technique employed by the blonde vixen that he seemed so enamored with lately. Kyuubi snorted. At least that female had a better smell than the pink one. She would be more likely to bear strong pups. _Well, as strong as a pup can be with such a weakling as the father_, the huge fox amended.

"Hey! No need to be mean," Naruto replied testily, not liking the contemptuous attitude the fox had towards him. "I haven't done anything to you, you know!"

**"Your very existence is my bane. Because you live, I am trapped in this sack of rotting flesh you call a body,"** Kyuubi retorted venomously. **"And even if I wasn't trapped inside you, I would still hate you. You are human. That is enough of a crime in itself."**

"What! So you're bunching all humans together and judging them based on what a handful of narrow-minded old goats did?" Naruto was getting angry now. "I understand why you'd be mad at the guys who screwed you, but not every person is like that!"

The loud, derisive snort that followed displaced enough air to make Naruto wobble. **"Hah! Are you even _listening_ to yourself? Take a good look at your past life. See how the very same humans I hate treated you as if you were worth less than the dirt under their soles. And for what? For fear of something they do not understand, and thus instinctively seek to destroy! Mindless trash, all of you,"** the great fox stated. It then looked at Naruto speculatively. **"Not to say that you _aren't_ less than dirt... but the rest of your race is hardly better than you. You humans are all equally worthless."**

"Why you... huh? Hey, why am I vanishing?" Naruto said in alarm as the fist he had been waving at the giant fox suddenly became transparent. He started panicking, until the Kyuubi made a sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

**"Relax, bratling. Your blonde vixen is just releasing her technique, allowing your consciousness to reemerge. Now go away and don't disturb my slumber anymore,"** it growled. Then, almost as an afterthought, it added: **"And don't get yourself killed. If your worthless life ends, so does mine. That would be... most inconvenient."**

Naruto looked at the fox in outrage. "Disturb... worthless!" he sputtered as he vanished. "You stupid, stupid ball of dirty fur! YOU're the one who's inc... inconvenient! You made my life Hell! I should charge you for rent...!"

As the young blonde vanished, still roaring in outrage, the great fox shook its massive head with what would pass for a wry smile, had it actually possessed lips. **"Bah. For a human, he could even be halfway tolerable... if he weren't so annoying. After all,"** it added, its grin turning decidedly insolent, **"he's too stupid to do the kind of things the rest of his despicable race is capable of doing..."**

**1234567890**

Naruto's head jerked back painfully as he found himself in control of his body again. He blinked a couple of times, trying to regain his composure, and realized he was no longer in Kyuubi's presence. He could, however, feel the fox's consciousness hovering at the edge of his perception, as if it was observing him. The sensation was unnerving.

Staring in front of him, he blinked in surprise at seeing his test form had been completely filled out. He then remembered the fox's words. _Must've been Ino-chan..._ he thought as he snuck a peek at his teammate. Ino me his gaze and smiled, winking, to which he replied with a blush and a grateful nod.

Nearby, Sakura observed the exchange with a confused expression. _Did Ino-pig just... flirt with the idiot?_ she wondered, then shook her head, chuckling. _Nah, what am I thinking. With a hunk like Sasuke-kun near her, why would she waste time on Naruto? Speaking of which, I must find a way to get Sasuke's attention. Just you wait, Ino-pig. I will not be defeated by you!_

All the Genin near Sakura, as well as several of the Chuunin on the sidelines, winced and backed away slowly as she seemingly caught fire, an unhealthy glint in her eyes. The cackling laughter that escaped her lips certainly did not help make her look anything other than suddenly insane...

The pink genin's brief insanity spell ended when Ibiki declared time was up. It was now time for the tenth question, which Ibiki declared would be asked after the time was up.

Naruto listened to the examiner with growing horror as he explained what this tenth question entailed. _What the Hell? Forever stuck as a Genin? You've GOT to be kidding me,_ he thought crossly, anger flaring in him.

**"Keh he he he he. Ready to give up, bratling?"** an all-too-familiar voice rang in his head. Naruto stiffened. How did the damn fox contact him now?

_Shut up, you,_ he growled menacingly. The Kyuubi's answer was a roaring laughter.

**"What is the matter? Did I strike too close to home? Face it, pup,"** it mocked him, **"You never amounted to anything, and when all is said and done, you will _still_ amount to nothing. You might as well give up and go home. There is no way you will get this question right, miserable wretch. Spare yourself the hassle and..."**

"_SHUT UP!_" Naruto roared as he shot up and his hand slammed on the desk before him, his mounting anger clouding his judgment. Oblivious of the startled look he drew from Ibiki, whose speech he had brutally interrupted, the blonde boy went on. "You keep talking as if I was nothing but a worthless weakling incapable of getting a simple question right, and you keep saying I should go home and forget about it before being disappointed. Well, you know what? _Fuck you!_ I won't run away, no matter what. I'll stay, and I'll get the answer right, and I'll _pass_ this _stupid test_! Because one day I'll be Hokage, regardless of what you or anyone else thinks! And that's all I'll say about this, because this is my _Ninja Way_!"

As he finished his tirade, Naruto slammed his hand on the desk again to drive his point home, cracking it, and stood there panting, a spirited look in his eyes, glaring at Ibiki without really seeing him. Around him, the other Genin began murmuring in approval, galvanized by his words.

**"...heh heh heh... Interesting mortal. Very well... I will observe you. Do entertain me now..."** was the fox's answer. Then it fell silent, and Naruto refocused, realizing that he was glaring at the examiner and probably had yelled all the time during his tirade. Unsure of what to do, he chose to put up a brave face and hope he wouldn't be kicked out for his outburst. Ibiki eyed him with a speculative look for a few moments, then looked around the room to those few who hadn't left during his explanation.

"Well, our aspiring Hokage has spoken. Anyone else wants to give up and drop out?" he asked, knowing full well no one would. He knew the value of a good pep talk, and Naruto's had been as good as any. Seeing no one raise his hand, he smiled.

"Very well then. All of you still here... pass. Congratulations!"

Several thumps punctuated facefaults from a number of people around the room, including Naruto and Ino, at Ibiki's decaration. The blonde boy recovered first, asking what everyone was wondering about.

"What the _hell_? We pass? Just like that? What about the tenth question?"

"You just answered it by staying here, boy," Ibiki explained. "The tenth question was 'to answer or not to answer'. It was a test in itself to determine if you have what it takes to be a Chuunin."

"I think I understand, Morino-san," Maki unexpectedly spoke up. "It is true that a ninja shouldn't take foolish chances, but sometimes the mission is far more important than one's life and well being, isn't it? Sometimes one has to take a chance and go on... no matter what the risk."

"Excellent... Yamazaki, is it? You understood the spirit of the test perfectly. I expect you to perform admirably in this exam," Ibiki nodded in approval. "Congratulations to you all. This officially marks the end of the first part of the Chuunin Exams..."

Ibiki suddenly fell silent, his head swiveling towards the window as a whooshing sound was heard. A moment later, a figure in a large cloak crashed through the glass. The cloak was quickly launched in the air and nailed to the wall, revealing the words 'Chuunin Exams, Stage 2' on it.

The woman who had been wrapped in it knelt on the floor with a dramatic pause for a few moments, then straightened and glared at the collection of Genin before her.

"All right, you brats! Playtime's over!" she shouted. "Now it's time for the second part of this exam to begin. I am your next examiner - Mitarashi Anko! Listen to what I say, and listen well, or you _will_ be sorry!"

Jun's grin widened at the scene. "I _really _like this village's instructors." she commented offhandedly to Kiba, who was seated near her and just looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

Ino groaned. _Figures the next instructor would be a Naruto-type nutcase, _she thought.

**1234567890**

Several minutes later, the remaining Chuunin hopefuls stood before the grounds which would host the next section of the Chuunin Exams. The ominous dark trees of the wild Konoha forest loomed over them, as if to say 'Come, I will chew you up and spit your corpse out'. Anko turned towards the young ninja with a grin that would have been best described as feral and rubbed her hands together.

"Well, kids, let me welcome you to the next part of the Chuunin Exam. This is Training Ground 66 - what we Jounin nicknamed 'the Forest of Death'. And your task is simple enough: get to the tower situated at the center of this forest within five days - and without getting eaten," she gleefully explained. "Of course, there's some idiots among you who will fuck up and become a snack for the animals in the forest. And there's also the catch of this exam... you need to get to the tower with a complete set of these scrolls."

So saying, she fished out two scrolls from her jacket and held them up in the air for all to see.

"Okay, listen carefully," she resumed. "This in my left hand is the Heaven Scroll. In my right is the Earth Scroll. In order to complete this test and be allowed entry to the next stage, you need to have both. _But_, you will only be given one, at random. You will need to hunt down another team and take the missing scroll from them - and since no one knows what team has which scroll, chances are you will have to work to fetch the right one."

There was a murmur from most of the Genin at these words. Jun smirked, while Maki merely gave a snort.

"So, basically, your goal is to get both scrolls through any means necessary, survive the Forest's dangers and then reach the central tower within five days. If you cannot reach the tower, you fail. If you don't have both scrolls, you fail. If you die, well... you die, so failing wouldn't be something you'd worry about. Any questions?" She gave a wicked smile at that.

"...what the hell kind of stupid test is that?"

Ino groaned as she glanced at her blonde teammate, who predictably had been the one to protest. "Naruto..." she warned. Naruto looked at her indignantly.

"What? Don't tell me you think this stupid stuff is cool! She's basically making us play tag with everyone else--"

Naruto's rant was cut off by a clang and he blinked as two kunai dropped at his feet. Anko's eyes narrowed as her gaze turned on the one who had deflected the kunai she had thrown at the blonde genin and met Kagura's cold, unyielding eyes.

"Mitarashi-san," the Marsh kunoichi said evenly, "I would advise not attacking Uzumaki-sama again. It could have rather unpleasant consequences. Besides, what sense does it make to cripple the candidates before the test?"

Anko snorted. "What a pity," she muttered, eyeing Naruto with an unnervingly hungry glare. "I was hoping to taste some fresh Genin blood. Oh well, there's always next time."

She grinned in satisfaction as Naruto went pale and quickly took a few steps backwards, but kept an eye on the Marsh girl. _She's fast_, she thought while observing the quiet girl. _She deflected my kunai with extreme precision, which means either she calculated its path correctly in a split second or reacted after I threw it. In both cases, it's a skill level no genin should possess. Hmm..._

Dismissing the thought for the time being, she turned back to the other Genin to finish her explanation.

"At any rate, I need you to sign these 'relief of responsibility forms'," she continued, motioning to a Chuunin near him that held an official-looking paper. "Quite frankly, I just _know_ some of you will get themselves killed, and I don't feel like being responsible for your stupidity. Thus, I want you all to sign that form and free me from responsibility, so that I can wash my hands if someone kicks the bucket at one point or the other."

"What--" Naruto began again, but was cut off by Ino driving a sharp elbow in his ribs which caused him to collapse on the ground whimpering. Anko spared a grateful glance to the blonde kunoichi. She had a feeling that Ino had spared her a monster headache.

"Fair enough," Maki commented from nearby. "Although, I honestly fail to understand why a village would be responsible for one of its ninja's survival. If a shinobi or kunoichi fails to survive in the face of danger, then it is their own fault for not being adequately prepared. And while a village is supposed to supply its ninja with tools, the ninja is the only one who decides what to bring on a mission, and how much of it. If they mess up on those decisions, it's their own fault, not the village's. End of story."

Anko paused at that, regarding the massive bandaged kunoichi thoughtfully. She then nodded in acknowledgement.

"You have a point... Yamazaki, was it?" At Maki's curt nod, Anko continued. "As I said, you have a point. But here in the Leaf, we tend to look at things a little differently than you of the Marsh might be used to. It may just be because we don't live in conditions quite as harsh as yours..."

"Makes no difference," the large kunoichi cut her off. "A ninja is born in darkness, lives in darkness and will eventually die in darkness. That is the way it must be. Teamwork and all that are good things - means your weak points will be covered by others - but a ninja must always be able to fend for himself, and take responsibility for his own actions, as well as his errors. Anything else is just inviting weakness in your numbers. Now, let us get this over with, shall we? Where do we sign that paper of yours?"

Wordlessly, Anko pointed at a nearby tent. As the Marsh trio marched past her, she idly wondered what kind of upbringing the girls may have been subjected to. She had a similar opinion to Maki's regarding responsibility, but the huge kunoichi was far harsher in her views than Anko had ever been.

In the next few minutes, each team signed the release papers and received one random scroll. Moments before the second segment of the Chuunin Exams started, there was a small commotion when the Moon warlord, Masakado, showed up and entrusted the strange girl with vacant eyes in the Moon team with a rather menacing long blade, whom she overheard being called 'Wo Dao'.

After the Moon lord departed, there was a brief pause as all teams reached their entrance gates. Then, Anko raised her hand in the air.

"Ready?" she shouted. After a brief pause, she lowered her hand. "_Begin!_"

Several clangs came from all around the forest as the entrance gates were opened. The many genin waiting at the gates immediately darted away, reaching for the treetops, and in a few seconds, all teams disappeared in the dark forest.

**1234567890**

(A/N: Finally over. Yes, I realize it's shorter than usual, but I HAD to break out of my dry spell, regardless of how much the recent chapters' crappiness killed my muse. Besides, all of my faithful fans deserved something for being so patient.

Now, I noticed that I failed to provide information on some terms I used in the previous two chapters, as well as some I used in this one, so... without further ado, a mini-dictionary:

_Fuuton: Yonokaze no Jutsu_ (Chapter 14): Literally 'Wind Type: Four Gales Technique'. It's a powerful wind technique that uses chakra manipulation on air to create sudden vacuum blades, resulting in the enemy being torn to pieces on impact. It can be redirected to an extent, though Sakura is limited in her versatility by her chakra reserves.

_Daishogun_: Great General, literally. It's Tairo Masakado's title.

_Tairo Masakado_: The name of the Hidden Moon's _daishogun_ comes from real-life warlord Tairo-no-Masakado, considered by some the protector God of Tokyo.

_Wo Dao_: Masakado's sword is named after the sword used by Karel, the Saint of Swords, in the Game Boy Advance game _Fire Emblem: Blazing Swords_. In my fic, it's a very light, very sharp no-dachi. Masakado trained Arisa with light swords specifically to get her used to this sword, which is why she adapts to the new weapon so easily.

...that covers it. GH out!)


End file.
